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Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century Hardcover – June 11, 2024

by Laura Beers (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 24 ratings
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Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography
Winner of the Goldsmith Book Prize
A New Yorker Best Book of the Year

For the 75th anniversary of 1984, Laura Beers explores George Orwell’s still-radical ideas and why they are critical today.

George Orwell dedicated his career to exposing social injustice and political duplicity, urging his readers to face hard truths about Western society and politics. Now, the uncanny parallels between the interwar era and our own―rising inequality, censorship, and challenges to traditional social hierarchies―make his writing even more of the moment. Invocations of Orwell and his classic dystopian novel 1984 have reached new heights, with both sides of the political spectrum embracing the rhetoric of Orwellianism.

In Orwell’s Ghosts, historian Laura Beers considers Orwell’s full body of work―his six novels, three nonfiction works, and brilliant essays on politics, language, and the class system―to examine what “Orwellian” truly means and reveal the misconstrued thinker in all his complexity. She explores how Orwell’s writing on free speech addresses the proliferation of “fake news” and the emergence of cancel culture, highlights his vivid critiques of capitalism and the oppressive nature of the British Empire, and, in contrast, analyzes his failure to understand feminism.

Timely, wide-ranging, and thought-provoking, Orwell’s Ghosts investigates how the writings of a lionized champion of truth and freedom can help us face the crises of modernity.

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  1. Print length
    240 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  4. Publication date
    June 11, 2024
  5. Dimensions
    5.8 x 0.9 x 8.6 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1324075082
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1324075080
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From the Publisher

Praise for Orwell's Ghosts from Tristan Snell
Praise for Orwell's Ghosts from D. J. Taylor

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lucid, engaging…The complexity (and sheer volume) of Orwell's work means that he has frequently been misunderstood. Beers reaches a satisfying synthesis."
― The New Yorker

"A succinct, wide-ranging work…concluding with a reminder to those on the political left that they can only achieve their aims 'through common endeavor' with others."
― Harvard Magazine

"Nearly three quarters of a century after George Orwell’s death, ‘Orwellian’ is one of the most misused adjectives in the lexicon. In this fascinating and timely study, Laura Beers teases out the real meaning of the word and its implications for the social and political arrangements of the twenty-first century."
― D. J. Taylor, author of Orwell: The New Life

"Laura Beers’s reassessment of George Orwell’s legacy seamlessly weaves past and present to offer insightful lessons and cautions for our own time."
― Allan J. Lichtman, author of Repeal the Second Amendment

"A brilliantly insightful study of George Orwell. All those interested in Orwell and our world today should read this book."
― Peter Stansky, author of The Unknown Orwell

"A perfectly timed and desperately needed book."
― Tristan Snell, author of Taking Down Trump

"Laura Beers’s book shows how Orwell’s often forgotten socialist politics ought to matter to his legacy―and how the anti-racism and feminism of our present demonstrate Orwell’s limitations. The wonderful results suggest that the relation between past and present is anything but simple."
― Samuel Moyn, author of Liberalism Against Itself

"Laura Beers reveals how Orwell’s politics, shaped by the tragedies of the first half of the twentieth century, can be brought to bear to understand our own age of insecurity. An essential read."
― Rt. Hon. Rachel Reeves, MP, shadow chancellor of Exchequer

"With all and sundry taking Orwell’s name in vain these days, it is timely to have a reminder of who he was and what he believed in, and also how his body of work can help us understand the world we live in now. Just the insight it offers to his work beyond the best-known titles makes Orwell’s Ghosts well worth reading."
― Nicola Sturgeon, former first minister of Scotland

"A critical assessment of the contribution that George Orwell's writings can make to contemporary social, economic, and political problems."
― Kirkus Reviews

"A valuable exploration of what it actually means to be 'Orwellian.'"
― Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Laura Beers is a professor of British history at American University and the author of Orwell's Ghosts, Your Britain, and Red Ellen, which received the Stansky Award. Her writing has appeared in the New Republic and Washington Post, among other publications, and on CNN.com. She lives in Washington, DC.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company (June 11, 2024)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1324075082
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1324075080
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.8 x 0.9 x 8.6 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 24 ratings

About the author

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Laura Beers

Laura Beers

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Laura Beers is a Professor of History at American University in Washington, DC. She received her PhD from Harvard University, and has taught at the University of Cambridge and the University of Birmingham. She is an expert on modern British and comparative politics.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
24 global ratings

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Customers find the book thought-provoking, with one review noting it teaches about Orwell the man. The writing quality receives positive feedback, with customers describing it as well written.

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6 customers mention "Thought provoking"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and insightful, with one customer noting it provides a comprehensive look at Orwell's life and work.

"An exceptionally well-written and researched book on an author that should be on most people’s minds here in the US as we stumble forward, and..." Read more

"Well-written, concise, and an interesting take. Worth your time!" Read more

"...This book teaches us about Orwell the man in an accessible way." Read more

"A lucid, thought-provoking read..." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, with one noting its concise style.

"An exceptionally well-written and researched book on an author that should be on most people’s minds here in the US as we stumble forward, and..." Read more

"Well-written, concise, and an interesting take. Worth your time!" Read more

"Very well written. Highly recommend" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Irwin G. Shubert
    5.0 out of 5 stars “Timely and though-provoking”
    Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2025
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    An exceptionally well-written and researched book on an author that should be on most people’s minds here in the US as we stumble forward, and backwards under a new regime.
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  • geminif4ucorsair
    4.0 out of 5 stars What did Orwell write, what did he want to say, and what does "Orwellian" mean today?
    Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2024
    The author focus is very much summed up in the questions of what "George Orwell" wrote, what was he trying to say - largely from personal experiences - and how does the use of the term "Orwellian" man in todays terminologies, particular in the political context.

    Orwell grew up in lower-middle class England in the late-1800s, lived (and worked) in Burma at different times, and in Paris, and would in the late-1930s, participate with the Republican cause in Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War ("a crucial turning point in his life", p.39). All these personal experiences were part of what became the focus of a host of articles and more books than his most famous: Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Beyond those one may have been required in hight school or university, he penned six novels, three non-fiction books, and maybe a half-hundred articles!

    Thought this career, Orwell was dedicated to exposing political duplicity (British rule in"British India", in particular from his experiences in Burma), social injustices (especially in England and France, where he penned his fist work under the pen name "George Orwell" - Down and Out in Paris and London (1933)).

    In the wake of his Spanish Civil War experiences, Homage to Catalonia, was written which details the extensive efforts of Stain's efforts to purge and gain control of the Republican Barcelona government, waring on the POUM (Worker's Party of Marxist Unification) socialist revolutionaries, and the minority of anarchists serving the Republican cause. Stalinism becomes the focus o the book, attempting to draw upon experiences to warn of the future of Stalinism. The two famous books "are the culmination of an intellectual transformation more than two decades in the making," in the view of the author. (p.41)

    Orwell was a firm believer in democratic socialism throughout his life and its works. Not all accepted his efforts or his interpretations, leading to period of difficulties in getting writings published. The author also notes, that despite his critiques of social injustices etc., "Orwell really offered constructive solutions, neither did he stand silently by. Rather, he took a frequently controversial and unpopular stand against injustice." (p.161). With this went his objection to written and other censorship efforts by governments - and that applied to the Soviet Union in particular.

    The author attempts to bring forward many of his famous - and not so famous - books and ideas into today's world, where authoritarian regimes are attempting to take hold in Eastern Europe, and even the United States. He believed that change must come to England in the social realm in the future, where greater equality would overthrown the caste system that existed in his 1920s thru 1940s era. Orwell passed away in January 1950 - unfortunately, not all had come about in "merry old England", as he had hoped and described in A Brief History of Equality, where redistribution of wealth would occur.

    Author Beer's effort to bring his writings into today's world is commendable - and rewards the author with some interesting insights and warnings regards the growth of regimes like Putin's Russia, Orban's Hungary, China's Premier Xi, and others. He prized freedom, hated censorships, and social injustice - all very relevant topics in today's world.

    Oh yes, and "Orwell" was not George Orwell....I'll leave you to read the book to know his true name!

    Highly Recommended !!!
    One person found this helpful
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  • skaps21
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2024
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    Well-written, concise, and an interesting take. Worth your time!
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  • Christian Schlect
    3.0 out of 5 stars Beers on Blair
    Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    A university professor's interesting attempt to encourage current-day progressives to take George Orwell as one of their own, and not leave him stuck in amber as a Cold War relic.

    Laura Beers checks all the boxes in her leftish evaluation of Orwell's influence on all matter of things from the Global South and reparations, to abortion rights, to private schools, to diet, to Black Lives Matter, to income disparity and the faults of capitalism, to unfair gender issues, to sexual violence, etc.

    Her mind set is to equate Donald Trump with Vladmir Putin (p. 179), while desiring a modern day social revolution.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • DB
    5.0 out of 5 stars A lucid, thought-provoking read
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2024
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    A through review of Orwell's body of work that made me want to go back and re-read 1984. Orwell's Ghosts shines a light on the relevance of his ideas on totalitarianism on the politics of today's world.
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  • joanna taylor
    5.0 out of 5 stars Insights into Orwell
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2024
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    Many of us have read Orwell’s iconic works, but few of us know about Orwell himself. This book teaches us about Orwell the man in an accessible way.
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  • GhostButter
    5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent and Thought Provoking
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2024
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    Very well written. Highly recommend
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  • Larry
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very insightful
    Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2024
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    This work gave me a better understanding of Orwell and how his thoughts are relevant today.
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