Orwell's Revenge: The 1984 Palimpsest

I had a difficult time getting into this one, took me far longer to read than average books. I found the divergence in between the story to be both interesting from the perspective of analysis of orwells thinking and writings, but also annoying as I kept having to go back and adjust back to the story line.

This is a must have book. And would make a great gift to introduce people to the concept that privacy is important, and big corporations and all this data tracking is truly a horrific move towards totalitarian government and police state abuse of powers. Trust me, I do understand the irony of writing this review on Amazon. HA! Indefinite data retention regarding consumer trending is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. This book is a must have. They are watching you. The flatscreen does watch you, even without a camera. Everything you do and say is recorded. This book provides interesting insight into the modern Orwellian concepts, and it's so true, it will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Completely re invented, but still true to the core. / Don't pass on this book. Buy it, while you still can.

This book was really interesting, especially considering current events and widespread lack of knowledge of Orwell's past.Bought two copies!

I would suggest first off, reading or re-reading Orwell's masterpiece before embarking on this book. I regret that I didn't have that insight earlier. I struggled for about the first half of Revenge to maintain interest. Then, somewhere about mid point the writing seemed to get a spark...don't know if that is attributable to the author getting a second wind ..or to me getting a first wind. In any event I finished the book with a much higher opinion of it than I started. Huber does a brilliant job of appreciating Orwell's original message ...while disputing much of it. His arguments are offered up with style and grace rather than an attempt to skewer Orwell. No ad hominems here. Such a refreshing approach in today's world of rampant hatefulness among those who disagree.

Book was in excellent condition! Better than described! Thank you!

While the author is correct that Orwell held some very wrong views (more so before writing 1984) and that it is not technology that will make us subservient to a authoritarian dictator, it is a little difficult to claim that 1984 didn't happen with a straight face. We have multiple government agencies that LITERALLY save a copy of everything we've ever done online or digitally on our phones and can access it anytime without even the fake pretense of a FISA warrant.Also see: Edward Snowden, WIKI-Leaks, Letter from the deep state to the NYT, the exile of Julian Assange, and William Binney (https://www.amazon.com/Good-American-William-Binney/dp/B071DJXF7L).

I read this book in 2002. I have always been a fan of Orwell’s and Huber’s title alone was enough to pique my curiosity. It offered me some useful and interesting perspectives that have clarified and added to my own knowledge and thinking. Recently, in an internet forum, I read some comments by two people who related stories of individuals who had come from Eastern Europe and who had tried to obtain and read Orwell’s works, like “Animal Farm” and “1984”, often at great risk. The commenters were remarking on the poignancy of these stories, and how interesting it was that the internet and free flow of information had overturned the dictatorships that had oppressed people for so many years, and which had attempted to stifle the natural human curiosity and thinking. Reading their exchange of commentary, I remembered “Orwell’s Revenge” on my shelves and the irony represented by Orwell’s works that it had revealed to me. I can’t recommend this book anymore highly.Orwell was a genius who understood quite a lot about society and the human condition, but his fundamental philosophy was pessimistic. He was fundamentally afraid that "the boot stamping on a human face forever" was the scenario that was ultimately destined to win the contest of history. The exponents of the totalitarian dictatorships were likewise afraid that his words would awaken resistance and overturn their plans, and they suppressed his works, often brutally. Huber’s book points out that the bloody, dehumanizing, twentieth century dictatorships were not ultimately brought down by Orwell, but by something that Orwell himself had failed to understand. Essentially, it boils down to this: what oppressors and those who fear them both often do not understand is that freedom is not something that human beings deserve to have or not, rather, human beings ARE free, by nature. Liberty is ultimately not something that is granted or withheld; it is an essential characteristic of human existence that is either acknowledged or denied by our philosophies and social structures, and in the case where it is denied, the more energy that a society invests in the denial of human freedom the more likely it is that our inherent liberty will ultimately cause the failure and collapse of the structures supporting those societies. Contrary to Orwell, the telescreen was not the weapon of Lennin's and Stalin's triumph; it was their nemesis. Through an inventive deconstruction and reassembly of Orwell’s works, Huber tells an engaging story in George Orwell’s own words and writings that reframes the 1984 novel in a newer perspective. Huber engagingly informs us of how George Orwell and his contemporaries came to have the blind spot that left them troubled about the fate of mankind when they should have been more optimistic about the progress of the human condition.

Remarkably original idea. Huber scanned the text of George Orwell's "1984", analyzes it, and uses it to write a sequel. The point of the sequel is not to develop the Winston Smith character, who doesn't even make an appearance. Instead, it Huber examines the telescreen device, and explores its potential to undermine the ruling Oligarchical Collectivists. The parallels between the telescreen in their world and the internet in our world are clear, but what is amazing is that Orwell's Revenge was written in 1995! Considering the role of the fax machine in bringing down the Soviet Union, this book should not be taken too lightly. How cogent is this book to America and the West? The author was invited to speak at the Bohemian Grove.

A bit a rewrite expansion and denouncement of 1984 the telescreen saves us all and capitalism is good.I do not agree with it but it seems to grow on menot so much a story more a reflectionStill good for orwell fans i guess

If you're a fan of 1984, this is interesting... but does strip the joy from the 1984 premise a little. Probably better to read more Orwell instead.