On Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Biography of George Orwell’s Masterpiece (Books About Books)

George Orwell’s 1984 is a book often used by politicians and pundits on both the left and right to score political points during debates, though it is doubtful many people have read it all the way through that claim they have, or if they truly know the author at all and how it came about. This book looks at how Orwell came about with coming up with one of his greatest works, and how he was unable to control its future since he died shortly after its publication, and how the work has had a life of its own ever since. Orwell could not be claimed to be a successful author, he was one of many authors who had to hold a full-time job while writing on the side, something that he struggled at. He seemingly did not care about politics until he was in Spain during its civil war in the 1930s, though many other artists and journalists also served and covered Spain during that time. Many things might remain unknown, including how much influence serving in one of England’s colonies had on the book, but this is an excellent start.