Samizdat Corner

The Road to Wigan Pier - George Orwell

This classical work by George Orwell was first published in 1937.  The first half of this work documents his sociological investigations of the bleak living conditions among the working class in Lancashire and Yorkshire in the industrial north of England before World War II. The second half is a long essay on his middle-class upbringing, and the development of his political conscience, questioning British attitudes towards socialism. Orwell states plainly that he himself is in favor of socialism, but feels it necessary to point out reasons why many people who would benefit from socialism, and should logically support it, are in practice likely to be strong opponents.

Animal Farm - George Orwell

This book by George Orwell tells the story of a group of anthropomorphic farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. Ultimately, the rebellion is betrayed and, under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon, the farm ends up in a state as bad as it was before.  Animal Farm reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, a period of time when Russia lived under the communist ideology of Joseph Stalin.  Orwell, a democratic socialist, was a critic of Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism, an attitude that was critically shaped by his experiences during the Barcelona May Days conflicts between the POUM and Stalinist forces during the Spanish Civil War.  In a letter to Yvonne Davet, Orwell described Animal Farm as a satirical tale against Stalin ("un conte satirique contre Staline"), and in his essay "Why I Write" (1946), wrote: "Animal Farm was the first book in which I tried, with full consciousness of what I was doing, to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole"

1984 - George Orwell

This classic masterpiece by George Orwell takes place in an imagined future in an unspecified year believed to be 1984, when much of the world is in perpetual war. Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, has become a province of the totalitarian superstate Oceania, which is led by Big Brother, a dictatorial leader supported by an intense cult of personality manufactured by the Party's Thought Police. The Party engages in omnipresent government surveillance and, through the Ministry of Truth, historical negationism and constant propaganda to persecute individuality and independent thinking.  This book is more relevant now than ever before and is modeled after the socialist governments of Communist Russia and Nazi Germany.

12 Rules For Life - Jordan B Peterson

This best-selling work by Jordan Peterson provides life advice through essays in abstract ethical principles, psychology, mythology, religion, and personal anecdotes.  The book's central idea is that "suffering is built into the structure of being" and, although it can be unbearable, people have a choice either to withdraw, which is a "suicidal gesture", or to face and transcend it.  Living in a world of chaos and order, everyone has "darkness" that can "turn them into the monsters they're capable of being" to satisfy their dark impulses in the right situations. Scientific experiments like the Invisible Gorilla Test show that perception is adjusted to aims, and it is better to seek meaning rather than happiness

Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki

This classic book begins with the Robert (the author) as a young boy, observing the contrasting financial mindsets and behaviors of his two dads. His poor dad, who held a high position in education, emphasized the importance of academic success, job security, and living within one's means. On the other hand, his rich dad, a successful entrepreneur, believed in building assets, investing wisely, and acquiring financial knowledge.

200 Years Together - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

This masterpiece is a two-volume historical essay by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. It was written as a comprehensive history of Jews in the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and modern Russia between the years 1795 and 1995, especially with regard to government attitudes toward Jews.  

The Dream - David Icke

David Icke has become world-famous for his work exposing today’s fast-unfolding global dystopia more than three decades before it became reality.  They laughed then. But he didn’t stop there. He went further.  Icke knew that the world of the ‘seen’ was only a reflection of something far, far, deeper that ultimately originates with a non-human force in another reality.They laughed then, too, even many who call themselves ‘alternative’ thinkers. But he didn’t stop there. He went further.Icke began to say after the turn of the millennium that human reality is a virtual reality simulation designed to entrap perception.They laughed again, and yet mainstream scientists have since concluded that we do live in a simulation. But he didn’t stop there. He went further.  The Dream sees David Icke go deeper in the rabbit hole than ever before to describe fantastic revelations about the nature of our reality, who we are, where we are, and the real origin of human control.
They’ll laugh again. But he won’t stop there.

The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (7 of 7)

This classical masterpiece describes and discusses the waves of purges and the assembling of show trials by Stalin through the 1930s in the context of the development of the greater Gulag system; Solzhenitsyn closely examines its purposive legal and bureaucratic development. The narrative ends in 1956 at the time of Nikita Khrushchev's Secret Speech ("On the Personality Cult and its Consequences"). Khrushchev gave the speech at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, denouncing Joseph Stalin's personality cult, his autocratic power, and the widespread surveillance of all classes of people that pervaded the Stalin era

The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (6 of 7)

This classical masterpiece describes and discusses the waves of purges and the assembling of show trials by Stalin through the 1930s in the context of the development of the greater Gulag system; Solzhenitsyn closely examines its purposive legal and bureaucratic development. The narrative ends in 1956 at the time of Nikita Khrushchev's Secret Speech ("On the Personality Cult and its Consequences"). Khrushchev gave the speech at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, denouncing Joseph Stalin's personality cult, his autocratic power, and the widespread surveillance of all classes of people that pervaded the Stalin era

The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (5 of 7)

This classical masterpiece describes and discusses the waves of purges and the assembling of show trials by Stalin through the 1930s in the context of the development of the greater Gulag system; Solzhenitsyn closely examines its purposive legal and bureaucratic development. The narrative ends in 1956 at the time of Nikita Khrushchev's Secret Speech ("On the Personality Cult and its Consequences"). Khrushchev gave the speech at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, denouncing Joseph Stalin's personality cult, his autocratic power, and the widespread surveillance of all classes of people that pervaded the Stalin era