The book that inspired 1984 - free in PDF!

[thewayne]

EDIT: references to the Mises Institute removed: see bottom of post for reasons and alternative links

We, by Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin.

“[Zamyatin’s] intuitive grasp of the irrational side of totalitarianism — human sacrifice, cruelty as an end in itself — makes [We] superior to Huxley’s [Brave New World].” —George Orwell

An inspiration for George Orwell’s 1984 and a precursor to the work of Philip K. Dick, Ayn Rand (Anthem), and Stanislaw Lem, We is a classic of dystopian science fiction ripe for rediscovery. Written in 1921 by the Russian revolutionary Yevgeny Zamyatin, this story of the thirtieth century is set in the One State, a society where all live for the collective good and individual freedom does not exist.

Although fiction, it is a story informed by the war communism of the Soviet Union, and was of course completely banned in Russia. But the collectivism is of a recognizable type, one that threatens every society in all times. To come to understand its features and markings is the benefit of the dystopian genre. The reality that dawns on the reader is that this seeming fiction is all-too real in our times.

The novel takes the form of the diary of state mathematician D-503, who, to his shock, experiences the most disruptive emotion imaginable: love for another human being.

At once satirical and sobering, We speaks to all who have suffered under repression of their personal, economic, and cultural freedom.

“One of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.” –Irving Howe

And free to download, as a PDF. It came up as a $2 ebook on my daily ebook newsletters, and my brain went 'if it was an inspiration for George Orwell, surely it isn't under copyright?' My brain then went 'It probably isn't under copyright and you should look him up on Wikipedia and Project Gutenberg, and STOP CALLING ME SHIRLEY!' The American, Canadian, and Australian Gutenbergs didn't have it, but his Wikipedia page had a link to the Mises site!

I like free stuff. And PDFs are supported by all ebook readers.

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL15196400M/We

https://monoskop.org/images/2/28/Zamyatin_Yevgeny_We_1972.pdf

Why Mises Institute was removed: As pointed out in the comments by Tiametschild, The Mises Institute is not an Austrian institution, it's an Alabama organization classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a Neo-Con group, which I will not support for obvious reasons. The Monoskop.org link will take you to a PDF scan of a paperback copy of the book.

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2000/neo-confederates

Comments

[silveradept]

Oh, hey, I have a hard copy of that and read it for a class in college. I don't remember it particularly well, of course, but I know I have gone through it.

[thewayne]

Well, that’s cool! Myself, I’d never heard of it before, the book or the author. I look forward to reading it.

[tiamatschild]

Psssst - I love Zamyatin's work in general and We in particular, but the Mises Institute is a lot of White Supremacist, Neo-Confederate propagandists who openly use Nazi rhetoric ("Blood and Soil" and other such)and promotes members who incite violence. All while masquerading as a reputable academic institution.

So. I don't know if I'd trust their stuff... at all.

http://www.unkochmycampus.org/los-ch2-part-4-the-ideas-austrian-economics-aka-classical-liberalism-a-gateway-to-extremism

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2000/neo-confederates

I just thought you might want to know.


On the other hand! OpenLibrary/the Internet Archive has it available!

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL15196400M/We

[tiamatschild]

Oh! and there's a pdf of a scanned seventies paperback version here!

https://monoskop.org/images/2/28/Zamyatin_Yevgeny_We_1972.pdf

[thewayne]

Thank you! I had no idea about the white power angle of the site, I hadn’t looked at the root and now wish I had! I shall change the link to elsewhere.

I REALLY appreciate it!

[tiamatschild]

You're welcome! They're really good at camouflaging themselves as respectable and reputable - it's hard to catch all the hate groups! Glad I could help!

[acelightning]

Compare and contrast Ayn Rand's We The Living.

[thewayne]

I tried reading her once, I couldn’t get past a dozen pages. I believe it was The Fountainhead?

[acelightning]

We The Living is one of Rand's more readable books. The one most people find difficult is Atlas Shrugged, which takes a while to get going. (Ayn Rand was a major vice of mine when I was in my late teens. Sorry - I outgrew it eventually.)