PENGUIN Essays

Do not be put off by the low rated reviews that seem to relate only to the Kindle and paperback editions.The hardcover edition's quality is superb, and it remained in excellent condition after I've read it back to back and exposed it to my bad habit of heavily highlighting books (with not a single page escaping the fate of being marked).As for typos - I found only three(!) all over the 1400 pages of the book.Regarding the content - the book contains many but not all of his essays from 1928 up until the last ones in 1949 including all 80 As I Please.Unlike the Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters 4 volume edition, it does NOT contain any letters or diary entries, that are now available as excellent separate editions.While reading further books about Orwell I came across references to essays in the 4 volumes CEJL that are not available in this edition.As for the writing - well, that's probably one of the best stuff I've ever read... WOW.This book does not even go back to the shelf.

What's particularly striking is his thoughtful and intelligent description of the importance of core state services and of the basic flaws in capitalism over the longer term, written before the NHS was set up and the nationalisation of our core services was put in place after WW2. I've lived long enough to watch the dismantling of these services, like the electricity and gas supply, telephone service, the railway network, the coal industry, the steel industry, the postal service etc, and the ongoing creeping privatisation of the health service, which is now an underfunded poor relation of the one originally set up. I wonder what George Orwell would be saying now. The vision and hard work that went into providing it all for the benefit of everyone in the UK, and not to increase the profis of a small number of the privileged and wealthy who so often avoid paying UK tax too, seem to have gone to waste. The population drifts along in a kind of hypnotic state, agreeing that 'austerity' and private ownership, all over again, are for our own good, and, for now, still embracing the myth that it will lead to great prosperity and wealth for all of us. It won't. Unfortunately for the rest of us, those hanging on to great wealth have no intention of sharing it.

Superb edition (I bought the hardback - highly recommended). Orwell's essays are needed now more than ever. He was careful to point out how quickly the socialist regimes of Spain and Russia became Communist tyrannies, which he considered to be exactly the same thing as fascism: "indistinguishable".As a democratic socialist, this was key to his politics. More cynical modern readers may well question quite what he expected socialism to turn into, given its ends cannot readily be accomplished within democracy: very few citizens tend to vote for centralised state control over their private property. However, Orwell's own pursuit of truth, his radical and uncompromising integrity, results in a collection of essays and opinions that are often uncomfortable to read: they challenge the reader and can trouble the conscience. But they do not cease to entertain.

Most of the Folk thinking of buying this book will be familiar with him already; between that fact and his reputation, it seems a little silly to base this review on what is said within the essays and works herein. What then warrants the five star reputation then? Well, Its inclusiveness and scope, the passion (for Orwell) with which it has been compiled, and the physical decency of the volume.Taking the first point first, this essay compilation includes far more of Orwell's writings than the other common compilations available. Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays is itself a fine compilation, but seems, after leafing through the Everyman's Library essay compilation, to be lacking some important essays: "The Lion & The Unicorn" and "Notes on Nationalism" to name just two though dozens more could be listed. Also, the Everyman's edition includes Orwell's writings for Tribune, namely his column "As I please".To the second point then, this edition contains a little note from the editor on the inside sleeve and a little timeline of Orwell's life, along side which major political events and literary works of the time, are included. The essays themselves are printed in chronological order, which is a lovely touchLastly, it is a relatively dinky hardbound edition, with the typical Everyman's "Livery". It comes with a golden tassel stitched to it as a sort of in-house bookmark, and all is printed in a decent font, in a print which isn't too small.To my mind, the most significant drawback is that this edition feels a little cramped, that is to say new essays are started without a page break, and the essays where a Orwell is setting out categories for things or subheadings,a line break would create a more spacious feel. Christopher Hitchens' equally brilliant essay compilation "Arguably" has these breaks, and looks more stylish for it.To serious readers of Orwell then, I recommend this tome. I even recommend it as an introduction to his essays, for if one were to first buy any of the other essay compilations available, one will likely be buying this edition in end anyway.

Some author had it in a reading recommendation list and the reviews said it's a good read.It is.It is so easy to read. It does not feel dated, at all.It is amazing to read a perceptive writer's view on the political scene as it happened. Writing about what might happen when we know now what did happen.A treasure.