One (Valancourt 20th Century Classics)

<p>In a dateless future a seemingly benevolent totalitarian State has eliminated poverty crime war and religious intolerance and brought the happiness of conformity to its people. Professor Burden thinks he too is a loyal citizen but the Department of Internal Examination discovers that he secretly values his individuality. Believing Burden to be a threat to the continued existence of the State an examiner named Lark decides to cure him of his heresy and return him to being a normal productive member of society—by persuasion if possible but by complete obliteration of his identity if necessary. </p><p>First published in 1953 <em>One </em>earned critical comparisons to the great dystopian novels of Orwell and Huxley. It is both a gripping psychological thriller and an indictment of totalitarianism which as Philip Boakes argues in the new introduction to this edition is more relevant than ever.</p><p>“The publishers have bracketed this novel with<em> Darkness at Noon</em> <em>Nineteen Eighty-Four </em>and <em>Brave New World</em> which I at first thought presumptuous; but now after reading it I am inclined to agree.” - Cyril Connolly <em>The Sunday Times</em></p><p>“[P]erhaps even more terrifying [than Orwell’s <em>1984</em>].” - <em>Saturday Review</em></p><p>“A thriller though physical danger is rarely present; a detective story without a detective; a vibrant chase without physical movement; and a restatement of an important ethical point which probably badly needs to be restated now. Compared to it most of the Utopian writing of this century ... is mere science fiction.” - <em>The New York Times</em></p>