1984 'is definitive book of the 20th century': Paranoia, propaganda and a state of perpetual war are the defining characteristics of the last century [...]
Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell's dystopic vision of a totalitarian future in which the population is constantly monitored and manipulated, came top of the survey to find the book that best defines the 20th century. The public voted online at Guardian Unlimited Books, choosing from a list of 50 era-defining books [...]
Orwell published Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1948, at the midpoint of the century, but its ongoing relevance is demonstrated by the extent to which its concepts and terminology - Big Brother, Newspeak, Double Think - have seeped into our language. Even the name of its author has been appropriated as an adjective, Orwellian, which is regularly used today in debates over privacy and state intervention.
