1984 Book Sales Skyrocket Amidst NSA Surveillance Issue

As of this Wednesday, Amazon sales of George Orwell‘s dystopian novel 1984 had jumped 6,021 percent in just 24 hours, to No. 213 on Amazon’s bestseller list. Many people have found uncomfortable similarities between Orwell’s “Big Brother” state and the news that broke last week of U.S. government surveillance programs.

The book, 1984, portrayed a society in which the state constantly tracks the movements and thoughts of individuals. Its slogan is “Big Brother Is Watching You.”

The phrases “Big Brother” and “Orwellian” have been the words of the week in news coverage and social media. Orwell’s novel, a bestseller upon publication in the 1940s, has remained a classic because it seems to crystallize what life under totalitarian regimes looks like.

Check out the book on Amazon: 1984 (Signet Classics).