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The Collected Essays, Journalism & Letters #2
My Country Right or Left: 1940-1943
My Country Right or Left features notes and essays on the Second World War (including two war diaries), reflections on life working for the BBC, reviews of Hitlers Mein Kampf and books by T.S. Eliot, Orwell's "London Letters" to the Partisan Review, and his famous analysis of the English character, "The Lion and the Unicorn."
--From the 2000 edition.
--From the 2000 edition.
477 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
About the author
George Orwell
1,257 books45.5k followersEric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist. His work is marked by keen intelligence and wit, a profound awareness of social injustice, an intense opposition to totalitarianism, a passion for clarity in language, and a belief in democratic socialism.
In addition to his literary career Orwell served as a police officer with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922-1927 and fought with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1937. Orwell was severely wounded when he was shot through his throat. Later the organization that he had joined when he joined the Republican cause, The Workers Party of Marxist Unification (POUM), was painted by the pro-Soviet Communists as a Trotskyist organization (Trotsky was Joseph Stalin's enemy) and disbanded. Orwell and his wife were accused of "rabid Trotskyism" and tried in absentia in Barcelona, along with other leaders of the POUM, in 1938. However by then they had escaped from Spain and returned to England.
Between 1941 and 1943, Orwell worked on propaganda for the BBC. In 1943, he became literary editor of the Tribune, a weekly left-wing magazine. He was a prolific polemical journalist, article writer, literary critic, reviewer, poet, and writer of fiction, and, considered perhaps the twentieth century's best chronicler of English culture.
Orwell is best known for the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (published in 1949) and the satirical novella Animal Farm (1945) — they have together sold more copies than any two books by any other twentieth-century author. His 1938 book Homage to Catalonia, an account of his experiences as a volunteer on the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War, together with numerous essays on politics, literature, language, and culture, have been widely acclaimed.
Orwell's influence on contemporary culture, popular and political, continues decades after his death. Several of his neologisms, along with the term "Orwellian" — now a byword for any oppressive or manipulative social phenomenon opposed to a free society — have entered the vernacular.
In addition to his literary career Orwell served as a police officer with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922-1927 and fought with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1937. Orwell was severely wounded when he was shot through his throat. Later the organization that he had joined when he joined the Republican cause, The Workers Party of Marxist Unification (POUM), was painted by the pro-Soviet Communists as a Trotskyist organization (Trotsky was Joseph Stalin's enemy) and disbanded. Orwell and his wife were accused of "rabid Trotskyism" and tried in absentia in Barcelona, along with other leaders of the POUM, in 1938. However by then they had escaped from Spain and returned to England.
Between 1941 and 1943, Orwell worked on propaganda for the BBC. In 1943, he became literary editor of the Tribune, a weekly left-wing magazine. He was a prolific polemical journalist, article writer, literary critic, reviewer, poet, and writer of fiction, and, considered perhaps the twentieth century's best chronicler of English culture.
Orwell is best known for the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (published in 1949) and the satirical novella Animal Farm (1945) — they have together sold more copies than any two books by any other twentieth-century author. His 1938 book Homage to Catalonia, an account of his experiences as a volunteer on the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War, together with numerous essays on politics, literature, language, and culture, have been widely acclaimed.
Orwell's influence on contemporary culture, popular and political, continues decades after his death. Several of his neologisms, along with the term "Orwellian" — now a byword for any oppressive or manipulative social phenomenon opposed to a free society — have entered the vernacular.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
February 17, 2024
There's a short section in this volume where three contemporaries respond to Orwell's thoughts about pacifism, which he is against. What's most interesting about these letters that is they are borderline unreadable—boring, poorly structured, and saying nothing of emotional resonance. The main thing they accomplish is to highlight just how good Orwell's writing is. I can't say I've thought much about the topic of pacifism or that it's of high relevance to me, but when Orwell takes it on, it gains a life and meaning that few others could confer.
The same could be said about most of this volume. With few exceptions, nearly every piece is about World War II, particularly about some very niche aspects of the war: political fights and alliances between Fascists, Communists, and Pacifists; English attitudes toward Russia; the possibility of a socialist state emerging from the ashes of the war. These topics are interesting from a historical perspective, and the volume as a whole also forms a portrait of wartime England—rationing, air raids, propaganda, and the like. But what makes it valuable from the perspective of posterity is Orwell's ability to hit on some core truths about human behavior.
If there's an overarching theme in that area, it's an exploration of duality. Orwell is very interested in the concept of patriotism, framing it as a primal human reaction that can lead to narrow-mindedness and atrocities, but without which the people of England would not have been driven to fight against Hitler. He also frequently brings up the idea that the "hedonism" offered by the left leaves people cold because it cannot tap into these primal emotional drives. The passage below loses almost nothing when considered in light of today's politics. (What to do about it is another question.)
Orwell's best writing on duality occurs in the essay, 'The Art of Donald McGill." McGill is the long-forgotten creator of a certain type of vulgar humorous postcard, which Orwell finds fascinating as the expression of the base side of human nature, existing in tension with the desire for higher meaning.
In general, I find Orwell's literary and cultural criticism to be my favorite of his writings, and "The Art of Donald McGill" is one of the best of this genre. This volume also includes a few other standouts, including Orwell's essay on Kipling and an exploration of a poem called "Felix Randal."
The final long section is comprised of Orwell's wartime diaries, which are largely focused on war news from the perspective of someone already very knowledgable on the topic. To be fair, these were not written for publication, but I found them rather dull and the only weak point of this volume.
The same could be said about most of this volume. With few exceptions, nearly every piece is about World War II, particularly about some very niche aspects of the war: political fights and alliances between Fascists, Communists, and Pacifists; English attitudes toward Russia; the possibility of a socialist state emerging from the ashes of the war. These topics are interesting from a historical perspective, and the volume as a whole also forms a portrait of wartime England—rationing, air raids, propaganda, and the like. But what makes it valuable from the perspective of posterity is Orwell's ability to hit on some core truths about human behavior.
If there's an overarching theme in that area, it's an exploration of duality. Orwell is very interested in the concept of patriotism, framing it as a primal human reaction that can lead to narrow-mindedness and atrocities, but without which the people of England would not have been driven to fight against Hitler. He also frequently brings up the idea that the "hedonism" offered by the left leaves people cold because it cannot tap into these primal emotional drives. The passage below loses almost nothing when considered in light of today's politics. (What to do about it is another question.)
Nearly all western thought since the last war, certainly all ‘progressive’ thought, has assumed tacitly that human beings desire nothing beyond ease, security and avoidance of pain. In such a view of life there is no room, for instance, for patriotism and the military virtues. The Socialist who finds his children playing with soldiers is usually upset, but he is never able to think of a substitute for the tin soldiers; tin pacifists somehow won’t do. Hitler, because in his own joyless mind he feels it with exceptional strength, knows that human beings don’t only want comfort, safety, short working-hours, hygiene, birth-control and, in general, common sense; they also, at least intermittently, want struggle and self-sacrifice, not to mention drums, flags and loyalty-parades.
Orwell's best writing on duality occurs in the essay, 'The Art of Donald McGill." McGill is the long-forgotten creator of a certain type of vulgar humorous postcard, which Orwell finds fascinating as the expression of the base side of human nature, existing in tension with the desire for higher meaning.
I never read the proclamations of generals before battle, the speeches of fuehrers and prime ministers, the solidarity songs of public schools and left-wing political parties, national anthems, Temperance tracts, papal encyclicals and sermons against gambling and contraception, without seeming to hear in the background a chorus of raspberries from all the millions of common men to whom these high sentiments make no appeal. Nevertheless the high sentiments always win in the end, leaders who offer blood, toil, tears and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic. Women face childbed and the scrubbing brush, revolutionaries keep their mouths shut in the torture chamber, battleships go down with their guns still firing when their decks are awash. It is only that the other element in man, the lazy, cowardly, debt-bilking adulterer who is inside all of us, can never be suppressed altogether and needs a hearing occasionally.
In general, I find Orwell's literary and cultural criticism to be my favorite of his writings, and "The Art of Donald McGill" is one of the best of this genre. This volume also includes a few other standouts, including Orwell's essay on Kipling and an exploration of a poem called "Felix Randal."
The final long section is comprised of Orwell's wartime diaries, which are largely focused on war news from the perspective of someone already very knowledgable on the topic. To be fair, these were not written for publication, but I found them rather dull and the only weak point of this volume.
May 18, 2013
One of the most pitilessly, admirably, honest observers ever. Was early to join the now-unpopular school of thought that held Winston Churchill to be a coward (viz: Gallipoli) and a fraud (viz: loading arms on to the Lusitania, a civilian passenger ship). His integrity shines throughout.
June 1, 2017
This was amazing and really interesting! Although it took me really long to finish it (6 months), I enjoyed (almost) everything about it.
December 8, 2022
Skvělá kniha. Skvělá! Je krásně vidět, jak moc se lidé mýlí v tom, kam se bude budoucnost vyvíjet. Jak náročné je odhadnout další vývoj světových událostí. A nezáleží na tom, jestli je člověk vzdělaný literát nebo ne.
Orwellovy deníkové zápisky z druhé světové války taky velmi zajímavým způsobem ukazují, že pro Británii byl v průběhu války zásadní vývoj ne na kontinentu, ale v Indii, na Blízkém východě a v severní Africe. Minimálně jeho záznamy o tom vypovídají.
Další část zápisků se týkala běžných každodenních věcí. Jak lidé reagují na nálety v Londýně, zda je dostatek potravin, jak se Británie připravovala na německý útok či jak válka dopadá na psychiku a pracovní výkonnost. Ze zápisků jsou jasně patrné Orwellovy levicové nálady. Očekával, že tváři v tvář válečnému strádání musí v Británii dojít k revoluci, jelikož nejbohatší část společnosti nebyla ochotna být solidární s lidem.
Jak vidíme, nebyla to jediná věc, ve které se tento výjimečný spisovatel mýlil.
Knihu doporučuji všemi deseti.
Orwellovy deníkové zápisky z druhé světové války taky velmi zajímavým způsobem ukazují, že pro Británii byl v průběhu války zásadní vývoj ne na kontinentu, ale v Indii, na Blízkém východě a v severní Africe. Minimálně jeho záznamy o tom vypovídají.
Další část zápisků se týkala běžných každodenních věcí. Jak lidé reagují na nálety v Londýně, zda je dostatek potravin, jak se Británie připravovala na německý útok či jak válka dopadá na psychiku a pracovní výkonnost. Ze zápisků jsou jasně patrné Orwellovy levicové nálady. Očekával, že tváři v tvář válečnému strádání musí v Británii dojít k revoluci, jelikož nejbohatší část společnosti nebyla ochotna být solidární s lidem.
Jak vidíme, nebyla to jediná věc, ve které se tento výjimečný spisovatel mýlil.
Knihu doporučuji všemi deseti.
July 15, 2019
Orwell was a great thinker and a great writer. He had a tremendous memory and self deprecating wit. All of these qualities are on display here. While not as good as "Funny, But Not Vulgar," this is still an educational and often fun read.
It's important that Orwell reminds us that Nazis were Socialists, while at the same time it's difficult to read Orwell praise that Nazis' Socialism as the superior method of organizing a country. He failed to see increases in productivity come from the freedom offered in a capitalistic democracy, and he also failed to see that countries which go the route of Socialism either wake up and revert to Capitalism or they sleepwalk their way to totalitarianism.
Additionally, reading Orwell reminds us that no matter how much things change, they can stay the same. Read this quote inserting "the US" for "England" and "American" for "English." "With all its injustices, England is still the land of habeas corpus, and the overwhelming majority of English people have no experience with violence or illegality. If you have grown up in that sort of atmosphere it is not at all easy to imagine what a despotic regime is like."
Orwell's abilities as a prophet are mixed, "Almost certainly we are moving into an age of totalitarian dictatorships-an age in which freedom of thought will be at first a deadly sin and later on a meaningless abstraction."
Orwell is certainly quotable:
"One cannot see the modern world as it is unless one recognises the overwhelming strength of patriotism, national loyalty."
"Patriotism is usually stronger than class-hatred, and always stronger than any kind of internationalism."
Upon realization that every example of Socialism is handcuffed to a reduction of artistic freedom, "Totalitarianism has abolished freedom of thought to an extent unheard of in any previous age."
It's important that Orwell reminds us that Nazis were Socialists, while at the same time it's difficult to read Orwell praise that Nazis' Socialism as the superior method of organizing a country. He failed to see increases in productivity come from the freedom offered in a capitalistic democracy, and he also failed to see that countries which go the route of Socialism either wake up and revert to Capitalism or they sleepwalk their way to totalitarianism.
Additionally, reading Orwell reminds us that no matter how much things change, they can stay the same. Read this quote inserting "the US" for "England" and "American" for "English." "With all its injustices, England is still the land of habeas corpus, and the overwhelming majority of English people have no experience with violence or illegality. If you have grown up in that sort of atmosphere it is not at all easy to imagine what a despotic regime is like."
Orwell's abilities as a prophet are mixed, "Almost certainly we are moving into an age of totalitarian dictatorships-an age in which freedom of thought will be at first a deadly sin and later on a meaningless abstraction."
Orwell is certainly quotable:
"One cannot see the modern world as it is unless one recognises the overwhelming strength of patriotism, national loyalty."
"Patriotism is usually stronger than class-hatred, and always stronger than any kind of internationalism."
Upon realization that every example of Socialism is handcuffed to a reduction of artistic freedom, "Totalitarianism has abolished freedom of thought to an extent unheard of in any previous age."
July 12, 2013
How did it feel to be involved in WW2? This book gives an insight into one mans war namely George Orwell. He of course is not an average or neutral observer but to have have someones reactions recorded as they occurred is always more interesting than hindsight or hearsay.
Orwell's essays are an absolute pleasure to read. He must be one of the best essayists in the English language. They (the essays) are an exposition of clarity and style which any writer of any kind should have as something to measure them self against.
For a man of the left who, while despising Hitler AND Stalin, also was no apologist for the British Empire, Orwell was always picking a political path that while fastidious was also quite trenchant. At one point he characterizes pacifists as fascifists.
The book gives many clues to the way his mind was working up to his masterpiece '1984'.
Orwell's essays are an absolute pleasure to read. He must be one of the best essayists in the English language. They (the essays) are an exposition of clarity and style which any writer of any kind should have as something to measure them self against.
For a man of the left who, while despising Hitler AND Stalin, also was no apologist for the British Empire, Orwell was always picking a political path that while fastidious was also quite trenchant. At one point he characterizes pacifists as fascifists.
The book gives many clues to the way his mind was working up to his masterpiece '1984'.
July 23, 2016
This second volume of Orwell’s collected works cover the period from 1940-1943. This was a time when Orwell had published several novels and made a name for himself as an investigative journalist and socialist writer, and as such there are far fewer letters to other writers and far more published opinion pieces and articles.
Given that the book covers the opening years of World War II, when Orwell was living in London, I was disappointed to find that surprisingly little of the book involved the war – even when bombs must have been raining down around him during the Blitz, he was still writing book reviews and discussing poetry and the state of contemporary literature. When the war was discussed, it was in political terms, without any of the personal angle which I preferred in his earlier writing, such as Down and Out In Paris And London or Homage to Catalonia. Then, of course, I found that the book has an appendix of 100+ pages covering his war-time journals. I can understand why the editors chose not to intermingle them with the rest of the book – a lot of the diary entries contain observations and winning phrases which he’d specifically noted down for later use, so you’d end up with too much repetition – but if I’d known it was there beforehand I probably would have chosen to read the diaries alongside the rest of the book, just for chronological continuity.
In any case, the war-time journals themselves are one of the best parts of the book – I always love Orwell, but his writing is much more enjoyable when there’s a personal aspect to it. It’s fascinating to read a day-by-day (or sometime week-by-week) account of the Blitz in general, let alone coming from the pen of such a gifted and famous writer. Much of his diaries – like much of the rest of the book – consist of political observations, arguments and predictions, but there are also lots of brief fragments of feelings and impressions on the whole situation scattered throughout. The entirety of his entry for October 19, 1940:
The unspeakable depression of lighting the fires every morning with papers of a year ago, and getting glimpses of optimistic headlines as they go up in smoke.
Or an addendum to a mostly political entry on November 23:
Characteristic war-time sound, in winter: the musical tinkle of raindrops on your tin hat.
Or, amusingly, on 27 March, 1941:
Abusive letter from H.G. Wells, who addresses me as “you shit,” among other things.
The predominant thing I took away from the book as a whole – something that was also present in the first volume – was how political WWII was. As a war, it’s been completely deified by modern society. Now, I believe (as Orwell did at the time) that Nazi Germany was nonetheless in the wrong, and the Allies in the right, terms I wouldn’t use to describe any war of the past decade. But right or wrong, Orwell’s writing clearly demonstrates how overwhelmingly political any war is – the complex plotting between conservatives and liberals, right-wing and left-wing, socialists and fascists and pacifists and communists. Many of his essays and diary entries are devoted to nutting out the motives behind propaganda and political decisions, or measuring the morale of a hoodwinked public. We take it as a given that everybody in England pitched in, with stiff upper lip, to defeat the Nazis. That was never true – there were grumblings and demonstrations and people quite potently arguing that England should stay uninvolved, or even join Germany. Antisemitism was rife, sometimes even from Orwell himself, and the US soldiers stationed in the UK were deeply disliked by the locals. Perhaps half a century from now people will think the Iraq War was universally condemned, with every single person in coalition countries united against it, when in fact many supported it. It can go either way, regardless of how the war itself pans out. The only reason I thought the Iraq War was so complex and politically motivated, and that WWII wasn’t, is that I happened to be alive during the Iraq War. Historical wars settle on an accepted narrative, for better or worse. Even the Vietnam War is starting to settle into a general consensus – just not the one the US would like.
So, as always, Orwell makes me think about stuff, whether I agree with him or not. I’m very much looking forward to the next book and keeping an eye out for a hint of the Holocaust. He hasn’t mentioned anything about it yet, and I still can’t wrinkle out of Wikipedia and history books whether or not people in Allied countries knew it was happening.
Given that the book covers the opening years of World War II, when Orwell was living in London, I was disappointed to find that surprisingly little of the book involved the war – even when bombs must have been raining down around him during the Blitz, he was still writing book reviews and discussing poetry and the state of contemporary literature. When the war was discussed, it was in political terms, without any of the personal angle which I preferred in his earlier writing, such as Down and Out In Paris And London or Homage to Catalonia. Then, of course, I found that the book has an appendix of 100+ pages covering his war-time journals. I can understand why the editors chose not to intermingle them with the rest of the book – a lot of the diary entries contain observations and winning phrases which he’d specifically noted down for later use, so you’d end up with too much repetition – but if I’d known it was there beforehand I probably would have chosen to read the diaries alongside the rest of the book, just for chronological continuity.
In any case, the war-time journals themselves are one of the best parts of the book – I always love Orwell, but his writing is much more enjoyable when there’s a personal aspect to it. It’s fascinating to read a day-by-day (or sometime week-by-week) account of the Blitz in general, let alone coming from the pen of such a gifted and famous writer. Much of his diaries – like much of the rest of the book – consist of political observations, arguments and predictions, but there are also lots of brief fragments of feelings and impressions on the whole situation scattered throughout. The entirety of his entry for October 19, 1940:
The unspeakable depression of lighting the fires every morning with papers of a year ago, and getting glimpses of optimistic headlines as they go up in smoke.
Or an addendum to a mostly political entry on November 23:
Characteristic war-time sound, in winter: the musical tinkle of raindrops on your tin hat.
Or, amusingly, on 27 March, 1941:
Abusive letter from H.G. Wells, who addresses me as “you shit,” among other things.
The predominant thing I took away from the book as a whole – something that was also present in the first volume – was how political WWII was. As a war, it’s been completely deified by modern society. Now, I believe (as Orwell did at the time) that Nazi Germany was nonetheless in the wrong, and the Allies in the right, terms I wouldn’t use to describe any war of the past decade. But right or wrong, Orwell’s writing clearly demonstrates how overwhelmingly political any war is – the complex plotting between conservatives and liberals, right-wing and left-wing, socialists and fascists and pacifists and communists. Many of his essays and diary entries are devoted to nutting out the motives behind propaganda and political decisions, or measuring the morale of a hoodwinked public. We take it as a given that everybody in England pitched in, with stiff upper lip, to defeat the Nazis. That was never true – there were grumblings and demonstrations and people quite potently arguing that England should stay uninvolved, or even join Germany. Antisemitism was rife, sometimes even from Orwell himself, and the US soldiers stationed in the UK were deeply disliked by the locals. Perhaps half a century from now people will think the Iraq War was universally condemned, with every single person in coalition countries united against it, when in fact many supported it. It can go either way, regardless of how the war itself pans out. The only reason I thought the Iraq War was so complex and politically motivated, and that WWII wasn’t, is that I happened to be alive during the Iraq War. Historical wars settle on an accepted narrative, for better or worse. Even the Vietnam War is starting to settle into a general consensus – just not the one the US would like.
So, as always, Orwell makes me think about stuff, whether I agree with him or not. I’m very much looking forward to the next book and keeping an eye out for a hint of the Holocaust. He hasn’t mentioned anything about it yet, and I still can’t wrinkle out of Wikipedia and history books whether or not people in Allied countries knew it was happening.
January 17, 2013
The Essays, Journalism and Letters of Orwell, My Country Right or Left was an interesting writing collection by George Orwell. This collection wasn’t the book wasn’t what I expected. Then the last half the book with is wartime diary was just flat out fascinating.
I won’t lie, when I read George Orwell in high school, it left a mark on me. I ate up both 1984 and Animal Farm. The critique he had on society was so interesting and dark. So I was interested in reading more from him. I requested this book off of book mooch ages ago and then it got put on my shelf and forgotten about until I moved. This seemed like one of the perfect books to read to get something a little bit more serious on my reading list this year.
One of the things that really surprised me was how interested Orwell was in both propaganda and the use of new words. I wasn’t anticipating him speaking so favorably of propaganda and in a way wanted more done by the British in the WWII. In a way it shouldn’t be so unusual. In 1984, propaganda was essential to the running of their world and the support of the military. I’m just not as convinced that propaganda is so essential and can do in essence mind control. After growing up with ads and skewed news stories everywhere, I’m skeptical by most propaganda. But I do know that the more often we characterize something as being evil, the more likely it can leave an impact.
This book also allowed me to see Orwell’s personality. He just came to life. He seemed like such a character. Someone who was so passionate about life and wanted to serve his country.
Several of the essays didn’t always impact me in the same way as I would have hoped. He would talk about political leaders and I didn’t know them. It doesn’t take long for party leaders to be forgotten in history if they weren’t fully in charge. I knew Churchill, but some of the other names, I didn’t know.
My favorite part of this book was his war diaries. Those were great. More meaningful then his letters reporting about the war. In a way it was interesting and not surprising to see how the air raids weren’t always taken seriously. Such is human nature. The talk about life and events were interesting. It showed me different views of the world which I love.
I won’t lie, when I read George Orwell in high school, it left a mark on me. I ate up both 1984 and Animal Farm. The critique he had on society was so interesting and dark. So I was interested in reading more from him. I requested this book off of book mooch ages ago and then it got put on my shelf and forgotten about until I moved. This seemed like one of the perfect books to read to get something a little bit more serious on my reading list this year.
One of the things that really surprised me was how interested Orwell was in both propaganda and the use of new words. I wasn’t anticipating him speaking so favorably of propaganda and in a way wanted more done by the British in the WWII. In a way it shouldn’t be so unusual. In 1984, propaganda was essential to the running of their world and the support of the military. I’m just not as convinced that propaganda is so essential and can do in essence mind control. After growing up with ads and skewed news stories everywhere, I’m skeptical by most propaganda. But I do know that the more often we characterize something as being evil, the more likely it can leave an impact.
This book also allowed me to see Orwell’s personality. He just came to life. He seemed like such a character. Someone who was so passionate about life and wanted to serve his country.
Several of the essays didn’t always impact me in the same way as I would have hoped. He would talk about political leaders and I didn’t know them. It doesn’t take long for party leaders to be forgotten in history if they weren’t fully in charge. I knew Churchill, but some of the other names, I didn’t know.
My favorite part of this book was his war diaries. Those were great. More meaningful then his letters reporting about the war. In a way it was interesting and not surprising to see how the air raids weren’t always taken seriously. Such is human nature. The talk about life and events were interesting. It showed me different views of the world which I love.
September 27, 2007
With Hitler and the Nazis bombing down his door in this second volume of essays and letters, Orwell manages to still knock out a few (477 pages worth) peices on England, the War, and the potential end of literature as we know it. It's the blitz baby and George is right there taking it all down in his diary, letters and essays as he reflects on Shakespeare, the Spanish Civil War and tea. Whether you are a facist, communist or just plain British, Orwell has something to say to you.
February 16, 2012
One of the few true democratic liberals,a man with conscience,and aware always about power and how it absolutely corrupts...One of the great political thinkers. His takes on
Literature and the war are just so good.He was wrong about a few things,but right on the important stuff.
Literature and the war are just so good.He was wrong about a few things,but right on the important stuff.
March 30, 2016
Pugnacious yet erudite, tough but compassionate, one of the best writers to have ever drawn breath.
November 7, 2021
When I "discovered" Orwell, the four volume Collected Essays, Journalism, and Letters, carefully gathered from used bookstores, were my best friends, so much so that the trade paperback copies (this one, happily, is a hardcover) are falling apart.
Unfortunately, they still are my best friends. The 20 volume Peter Davidson Complete Orwell was in print for about 60 seconds, and I don't believe ever was published in the US, so had to be gotten from the UK. I have one volume, very fortuitously found in a used bookstore. I can't afford the rest.
That doesn't make the original 4 volume set unworthy, but it is wretchedly incomplete and often censored because people Orwell was writing about were at the time still alive. This particular volume, My Country Right or Left, covering 1940-1943, has much in it that illustrates Orwell's rapid growth as a writer during the first part of the Second World War. He himself felt that much of the period was wasted, but in this volume we have jewels like The Lion and the Unicorn and essays like "New Words," "Looking Back on the Spanish War," and his classic on popular culture, "The Art of Donald McGill" (picture my reaction when I found out that an Australian airman serving in the UK was sending his girlfriend Donald McGill postcards). Also included are his London Letters to the US magazine Partisan Review and his wartime diaries through November 1942, as well as short pieces based on radio talks he was giving on the BBC India Service, letters, book reviews, etc. It's 450 pages of Orwell approaching his peak. Orwell may have thought these years were thrown away, but here we find Orwell learning how to write with speed and grace - and the first faint hints of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Very much worth having, but a poor substitute for the Complete Orwell I can't afford and feel the lack of deeply.
Unfortunately, they still are my best friends. The 20 volume Peter Davidson Complete Orwell was in print for about 60 seconds, and I don't believe ever was published in the US, so had to be gotten from the UK. I have one volume, very fortuitously found in a used bookstore. I can't afford the rest.
That doesn't make the original 4 volume set unworthy, but it is wretchedly incomplete and often censored because people Orwell was writing about were at the time still alive. This particular volume, My Country Right or Left, covering 1940-1943, has much in it that illustrates Orwell's rapid growth as a writer during the first part of the Second World War. He himself felt that much of the period was wasted, but in this volume we have jewels like The Lion and the Unicorn and essays like "New Words," "Looking Back on the Spanish War," and his classic on popular culture, "The Art of Donald McGill" (picture my reaction when I found out that an Australian airman serving in the UK was sending his girlfriend Donald McGill postcards). Also included are his London Letters to the US magazine Partisan Review and his wartime diaries through November 1942, as well as short pieces based on radio talks he was giving on the BBC India Service, letters, book reviews, etc. It's 450 pages of Orwell approaching his peak. Orwell may have thought these years were thrown away, but here we find Orwell learning how to write with speed and grace - and the first faint hints of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Very much worth having, but a poor substitute for the Complete Orwell I can't afford and feel the lack of deeply.
May 11, 2020
Seperti essai-essai Orwell yang pernah saya baca sebelumnya, kumpulan essai-essai dalam buku ini pun menunjukkan tingkat intelegensi Orwell sebagai seorang penulis yang mampu menuliskan sebuah essai bertema sosio-politik menjadi sangat menarik laiknya sebuah karya seni.
Ditulis dengan pengamatan yang gamblang , jujur, dan mengagumkan akan keadaan masyarakat Inggris dan eropa semasa dan setelah Perang Dunia II, tulisan-tulisan Orwell di buku ini membuat pembaca berpikir akan banyak hal, baik bagi yang setuju dengannya ataupun tidak.
Kecerdasan, kejernihan berpikir, dan kejujuran Orwell terepresentasikan dengan sangat jelas dalam tulisannya. Kalimat pendek dan bernas yang ia gunakan sangat berpengaruh, meski kadang orang-orang menganggap gaya tulisan itu membuat pengarangnya tampak arogan, tetapi Orwell mengelolanya dengan cemerlang.
Dia benar-benar membuat seni menulis politik. Selain seni dalam arti seseungguhnya dimana dalam buku ini pun ia mengulas tentang ulasan buku juga membahas puisi dan keadaan sastra kontemporer.
Benar-benar buku yang "mencerahkan" dan menegaskan bahwa manusia adalah makhluk yang (seharusnya) berpikir. Really Worth Reading.
Ditulis dengan pengamatan yang gamblang , jujur, dan mengagumkan akan keadaan masyarakat Inggris dan eropa semasa dan setelah Perang Dunia II, tulisan-tulisan Orwell di buku ini membuat pembaca berpikir akan banyak hal, baik bagi yang setuju dengannya ataupun tidak.
Kecerdasan, kejernihan berpikir, dan kejujuran Orwell terepresentasikan dengan sangat jelas dalam tulisannya. Kalimat pendek dan bernas yang ia gunakan sangat berpengaruh, meski kadang orang-orang menganggap gaya tulisan itu membuat pengarangnya tampak arogan, tetapi Orwell mengelolanya dengan cemerlang.
Dia benar-benar membuat seni menulis politik. Selain seni dalam arti seseungguhnya dimana dalam buku ini pun ia mengulas tentang ulasan buku juga membahas puisi dan keadaan sastra kontemporer.
Benar-benar buku yang "mencerahkan" dan menegaskan bahwa manusia adalah makhluk yang (seharusnya) berpikir. Really Worth Reading.
August 24, 2020
At this point in reading the four volume collection of Orwell's essays, letters, and journalism (this is the second volume), the reader starts to feel overly familiar with Orwell's mind, to the extent that one knows what his reaction is going to be to each historical stimulus that comes down the pike. He does get repetitive at times. The novelty one feels in the first volume at reading the thoughts of an intellectually honest man of the left has worn off a bit.
But still, intellectually honest he remains. And during the years of World War II, he manages to remain staunchly anti-fascist AND critical of Churchill and the British government. This book is an invaluable document in understanding the world during the war.
But still, intellectually honest he remains. And during the years of World War II, he manages to remain staunchly anti-fascist AND critical of Churchill and the British government. This book is an invaluable document in understanding the world during the war.
February 14, 2023
Continuing the journey through the collected writings of Mr Orwell. Volume 2 is fascinating, particularly as we are now into the Second World War and Orwell's insightful and often searing views on the conflict. Interesting also to see how much history is written then read for five minutes and then disappears altogether, leaving us with such narrow views of history - unless we choose to research and study and look deeper, which most simply don't or can't. We have indeed been doomed to repeat so much. Loving this immersion into Orwell's world. These volumes are not for the faint-hearted, and will be much more interesting to fans of the novels, but I'm looking forward to discovering what Volume 3 will bring.
Read
August 20, 2019"While [Orwell] is best known for Animal Farm and 1984, most of his writing derived from his tireless work as a journalist, and thanks to David Godine’s welcome reissue of The Collected Essays, Journalism, and Letters of George Orwell, which has been out of print for a decade, readers can find it all in one place. All of the author’s insightful, hard-hitting essays and journalistic pieces are here…the most complete picture of the writer and man possible."
—Eric Liebetrau | Kirkus Reviews
—Eric Liebetrau | Kirkus Reviews
December 30, 2022
3.5
While reading this book I found out that I'm burnt out. I don't really remember what was happening (of course I know that it's about war and all but I don't remember closer). But even tho I didn't really pay attention I finished it and I liked it.
Some parts were really sad but the book got just more personal when he was writing about Prague (I live in Czechia).
In the end I decided to reread this book when my brain will return.
While reading this book I found out that I'm burnt out. I don't really remember what was happening (of course I know that it's about war and all but I don't remember closer). But even tho I didn't really pay attention I finished it and I liked it.
Some parts were really sad but the book got just more personal when he was writing about Prague (I live in Czechia).
In the end I decided to reread this book when my brain will return.
May 5, 2020
Every aspiring writer should read Orwell - the clear, economic prose combined with his intellectual rigour and honesty render this collection readable from start to finish, even if it's just a review of some long forgotten novel or a letter to his publisher. The same applies to Volume 3. Volumes 1 and 4 are still on the shelf - I'm saving them for cloudy days.
June 26, 2020
Though I like reading letters and essays, I found this book a bit tough going. I felt like the author had written for a rather esoteric audience, that did not include me. Nevertheless, between Orwell and Muggeridge, I certainly know a lot more, than I did before, about the morale of the intelligentsia in England during World War II.
March 4, 2024
To me, not as interesting as Volume 1 of Orwell's collected essays. Volume 2 understandably focuses on WWII (1940-1943). Interesting reporting of various opinions held by Brits in those days. Much emphasis on surviving the Blitz. Orwell hopes if Britain is going to suffer major setbacks than perhaps Socialism will be given a chance.
December 15, 2017
As always, Orwell's clarity and perceptiveness never cease to amaze. "Literature and Totalitarianism," "Looking back on the Spanish War," and "The Lion and the Unicorn," each drew and interesting perspective towards the political world we currently reside.
June 7, 2021
Orwell had provocative opinions on everything and was not afraid to share them with the world: From his review of MEIN KAMPF: "I confess I have never been able to hate Hitler. There is something in those sad eyes that says he deserves to win even when you don't want him to."
December 11, 2022
This shows how people can be pulled by both sides of political spectrum and that not everything is black and white.
A style of writing that is capable of making you feel like you were there, and that’s probably the best feel you can have in literature.
A style of writing that is capable of making you feel like you were there, and that’s probably the best feel you can have in literature.
June 17, 2020
The more I read Orwell, the more I love Orwell. Evermore relevant.
Want to read
June 15, 2023Using this entry for the essay of the same name, not this book.
December 23, 2020
When I started this Orwell was my favorite author ever, and one volume of his most personal writings have done nothing to change that status. His typically clear, incisive prose is on full display, while his perpetually calm and reasoned attitude -- especially when speaking about his contemporaries -- continues to give him an aura of being the only adult in a room full of squabbling children. It's very hard to disagree with him when he uses such plain logic.
Orwell's opinion on other writers and famous figures is fascinating and often transformative, highlights being H.G. Wells, T.S. Eliot, Rudyard Kipling, D.H. Lawrence, W.B. Yeats, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Twain, Churchill and Gandhi. His tone towards these folks is one of straightforward modesty, though he does occasionally lapse into a strange mixture of bullheaded arrogance and idealistic naiveté (especially as regards Socialism). The most glaring example of this is his repeated certainty in the first years of WWII that Britain could only win by undergoing revolutionary class upheaval, a prediction which turned out almost shockingly narrow-minded. I couldn't help feeling simultaneously amused and sad at knowing just how wrong his "end of capitalism" proclamations have turned out. He'd sure be horrified today, wouldn't he?
Specific highlights are "No, Not One," "Pacifism and the War" for a glimpse at what those he criticized thought of him, and "Looking Back on the Spanish War," which recalled his excellent and under-read Homage to Catalonia (see my review). But really the whole thing is valuable as a prolonged glimpse into one of the great minds of Western Civilization during such a volatile period.
It actually surprised me that his Wartime Diaries included at the end of the book were perhaps my favorite part, just because they provide such an amazingly clear window into not only the complex political machinations behind the simplified history that we all learn (e.g.: propaganda; British domestic politics and popular wartime attitudes; Anglo-Indian relations; the tense and turbulent relationship between Britain and Russia), but also because of their vivid and often beautiful portrayal of what life for a common citizen during those times must have been.
There's a span between pp. 420-28 where Orwell describes the horror of air raids and food shortages, and it's absolutely amazing to think that actual people suffered through these things only 70 years ago. It's especially powerful for a U.S. audience, since we can literally not comprehend how it must have felt to be subject to threats on our very sovereignty. To put it in terms a North American could understand: it would be like knowing 9/11 is happening beforehand and then experiencing it every night, all night long for months on end. Orwell's portrayal is riveting, but only because he writes without pretense; his goal is only to describe popular morale and give examples but his innate talent makes it so much more. Some of his more poignant entries:
Not Bad Reviews
@pointblaek
Orwell's opinion on other writers and famous figures is fascinating and often transformative, highlights being H.G. Wells, T.S. Eliot, Rudyard Kipling, D.H. Lawrence, W.B. Yeats, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Twain, Churchill and Gandhi. His tone towards these folks is one of straightforward modesty, though he does occasionally lapse into a strange mixture of bullheaded arrogance and idealistic naiveté (especially as regards Socialism). The most glaring example of this is his repeated certainty in the first years of WWII that Britain could only win by undergoing revolutionary class upheaval, a prediction which turned out almost shockingly narrow-minded. I couldn't help feeling simultaneously amused and sad at knowing just how wrong his "end of capitalism" proclamations have turned out. He'd sure be horrified today, wouldn't he?
Specific highlights are "No, Not One," "Pacifism and the War" for a glimpse at what those he criticized thought of him, and "Looking Back on the Spanish War," which recalled his excellent and under-read Homage to Catalonia (see my review). But really the whole thing is valuable as a prolonged glimpse into one of the great minds of Western Civilization during such a volatile period.
It actually surprised me that his Wartime Diaries included at the end of the book were perhaps my favorite part, just because they provide such an amazingly clear window into not only the complex political machinations behind the simplified history that we all learn (e.g.: propaganda; British domestic politics and popular wartime attitudes; Anglo-Indian relations; the tense and turbulent relationship between Britain and Russia), but also because of their vivid and often beautiful portrayal of what life for a common citizen during those times must have been.
There's a span between pp. 420-28 where Orwell describes the horror of air raids and food shortages, and it's absolutely amazing to think that actual people suffered through these things only 70 years ago. It's especially powerful for a U.S. audience, since we can literally not comprehend how it must have felt to be subject to threats on our very sovereignty. To put it in terms a North American could understand: it would be like knowing 9/11 is happening beforehand and then experiencing it every night, all night long for months on end. Orwell's portrayal is riveting, but only because he writes without pretense; his goal is only to describe popular morale and give examples but his innate talent makes it so much more. Some of his more poignant entries:
19 October 1941: The unspeakable depression of lighting the fires every morning with papers of a year ago, and getting glimpses of optimistic headlines as they go up in smoke.Overall this book is important not only for Orwell completists but as a historical document. The diaries alone are a treasure in this respect. For ardent fans of Orwell as well as WWII history buffs it's a must-read, but even casual fans or poli-sci enthusiasts will appreciate his political and economic views. I plan on reading the next two volumes, though probably not the first as I am more interested in seeing how his thought develops, now that I know where he was at in his mid-30s.
22 January 1941: The onion shortage has made everyone intensely sensitive to the smell of onions. A quarter of an onion shredded into a stew seems exceedingly strong. E. the other day knew as soon as I kissed her that I had eaten onions some 6 hours earlier.
4 March 1941: At Wallington. Crocuses out everywhere, a few wallflowers budding, snowdrops just at their best. Couple of hares sitting about in the winter wheat and gazing at one another. Now and again in this war, at intervals of months, you can get your nose above water for a few moments and notice that the earth is still going around the sun.
Not Bad Reviews
@pointblaek
July 7, 2015
If Volume 1 was a portrait of the writer as a young socialist, then part two is when George Orwell goes to war.
It is a little difficult to tell, since the four volumes are misleadingly referred to as Orwell’s collected non-fiction whilst admitting to some editing and omission in the introduction. However, what appears to come across is that Orwell has almost a monomania in his writing about whatever issue is most current in his mind.
At the time of the Spanish Civil War, then this preoccupied him. At this time it is the war. If it was simply a matter of depending on his public works, we could assume that this is all that he found paid work in writing about. However his private letters and diaries reflect the same concerns and preoccupations.
There are perhaps two themes that run through much of Orwell’s writing at this time. The first is patriotism. For Orwell, the fault of many on the Left at this time is their failure to realise the importance of patriotism.
He gives his famous account of his country in The Lion and the Unicorn, including descriptions repeated by conservatives who failed to spot some of the irony in the original text. Orwell is critical and exasperated by his country, but ultimately he will always identify with it, and he deplores the left who oppose it.
This can lead to an occasional narrow-mindedness to other countries and his views on India can seem patronising and contemptuous to us now, though he was better than many of his contemporaries in his attitudes towards the colonies.
There is in fact a streak of conservatism in Orwell’s vision of socialism – he can support his country, the war, the occupation of India and leaving the capitalists in place in a socialist society, albeit as managers of a planned economy rather than free entrepreneurs. Orwell had seen the deadly effects of communism at first hand during the Spanish Civil War and was understandably more moderate in his wish to apply socialism to Britain.
The other running theme is pacificism. Orwell has little time for the pacifists and dismisses them as ‘objectively pro-Fascist’. He believes that their attitudes are naïve and will only allow fascism to triumph for a long time. He is also not too keen on the defeatism that he detects in much of the Left at the time.
There is sadly little time for Orwell’s essays in this volume, and we get many matter-of-fact descriptions of the war in Orwell’s letters to the Partisan Review and his own wartime diary (which takes up about a fifth of this volume).
These provide an interesting insight into what it is like being caught up in the war. Major events can get very little description and minor events can occupy a lot of space, showing that what seems important to us now may not have seemed so then.
Orwell’s predictions about the war are not always correct, less so than he himself sometimes seems to think. His belief that socialism would be necessary to win the war also proved to be mistaken, though it is the nature of socialists to always seek to be optimistic about the triumph of their beliefs.
There is always a danger for anybody who lives by trying to predict the future – economists, political analysts, meteorologists, astrologists etc. If they are wrong when they predict the future, then we may well question how accurate their analysis of contemporary events is. Of course Orwell was willing to admit that his predictions could be wrong, and less complacent than many.
Of course, Orwell can take a break from the war and discuss other matters. There is always time for literature reviews, even if Orwell felt they were irrelevant at this time. A few essays are included in which he has time to criticise Tolstoy’s hostility to Shakespeare, be dismissive of Mark Twain’s courting of public opinion (which Orwell felt had prevented Twain from being as good a writer as he might be) and to analyse the good-bad works of Kipling and the silliness of Yates.
Overall, this is an interesting collection and gives the reader a feel for life during the war and a political age where leading figures really cared about significant political issues.
It is a little difficult to tell, since the four volumes are misleadingly referred to as Orwell’s collected non-fiction whilst admitting to some editing and omission in the introduction. However, what appears to come across is that Orwell has almost a monomania in his writing about whatever issue is most current in his mind.
At the time of the Spanish Civil War, then this preoccupied him. At this time it is the war. If it was simply a matter of depending on his public works, we could assume that this is all that he found paid work in writing about. However his private letters and diaries reflect the same concerns and preoccupations.
There are perhaps two themes that run through much of Orwell’s writing at this time. The first is patriotism. For Orwell, the fault of many on the Left at this time is their failure to realise the importance of patriotism.
He gives his famous account of his country in The Lion and the Unicorn, including descriptions repeated by conservatives who failed to spot some of the irony in the original text. Orwell is critical and exasperated by his country, but ultimately he will always identify with it, and he deplores the left who oppose it.
This can lead to an occasional narrow-mindedness to other countries and his views on India can seem patronising and contemptuous to us now, though he was better than many of his contemporaries in his attitudes towards the colonies.
There is in fact a streak of conservatism in Orwell’s vision of socialism – he can support his country, the war, the occupation of India and leaving the capitalists in place in a socialist society, albeit as managers of a planned economy rather than free entrepreneurs. Orwell had seen the deadly effects of communism at first hand during the Spanish Civil War and was understandably more moderate in his wish to apply socialism to Britain.
The other running theme is pacificism. Orwell has little time for the pacifists and dismisses them as ‘objectively pro-Fascist’. He believes that their attitudes are naïve and will only allow fascism to triumph for a long time. He is also not too keen on the defeatism that he detects in much of the Left at the time.
There is sadly little time for Orwell’s essays in this volume, and we get many matter-of-fact descriptions of the war in Orwell’s letters to the Partisan Review and his own wartime diary (which takes up about a fifth of this volume).
These provide an interesting insight into what it is like being caught up in the war. Major events can get very little description and minor events can occupy a lot of space, showing that what seems important to us now may not have seemed so then.
Orwell’s predictions about the war are not always correct, less so than he himself sometimes seems to think. His belief that socialism would be necessary to win the war also proved to be mistaken, though it is the nature of socialists to always seek to be optimistic about the triumph of their beliefs.
There is always a danger for anybody who lives by trying to predict the future – economists, political analysts, meteorologists, astrologists etc. If they are wrong when they predict the future, then we may well question how accurate their analysis of contemporary events is. Of course Orwell was willing to admit that his predictions could be wrong, and less complacent than many.
Of course, Orwell can take a break from the war and discuss other matters. There is always time for literature reviews, even if Orwell felt they were irrelevant at this time. A few essays are included in which he has time to criticise Tolstoy’s hostility to Shakespeare, be dismissive of Mark Twain’s courting of public opinion (which Orwell felt had prevented Twain from being as good a writer as he might be) and to analyse the good-bad works of Kipling and the silliness of Yates.
Overall, this is an interesting collection and gives the reader a feel for life during the war and a political age where leading figures really cared about significant political issues.
October 17, 2023
My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.
May 29, 2024
George Orwell was such a conscious writer. I enjoy his essays simply because of the fact that he seems to care what's happening. With his books like 1984, he did try to warn us what might happen in the future, unfortunately, people are really stale.
January 12, 2021
As usual, time spent reading Orwell is time well spent. This book is the second of three presenting his essays, journalism, and letters. It covers the early years of World War II. His subjects here include essays on other writers, notably Rudyard Kipling, T.S. Eliot, W. B. Yeats, and Mark Twain. These examinations were not only rewarding themselves, but led to several other books that expanded the topic. Just what one hopes for in good non-fiction writing.
Apart from these literary excursions, I found his wartime observations most interesting. His strong socialist views appear in articles he wrote for the literary magazine Partisan Review in which he sometimes noted the incipient "revolution" in England to replace Churchill with a figure from the left. He eventually receded from this view and came to support the Churchill government. Other wartime writings, including from his diary, touch on wartime developments on the on both the home and fighting fronts. Some of these writings are interesting, but link to names and events that are obscure to current readers. His comments on the American contribution to the war effort seem stinting, and his remarks on American troops seen about London are critical to condescending at times. He is also hard on Mark Twain, so America and Americans apparently did not rank high on his list of the liked at this time. He writes frequently on the expected Nazi invasion of England and of the doing of the civilian support services such as the fire wardens and the home guards. Orwell served in both of these efforts.
The included letters are not impressive as these deal mainly with petty arguments among the literati or with his business arrangements with publishers.
Recommended for contemplative reading.
Apart from these literary excursions, I found his wartime observations most interesting. His strong socialist views appear in articles he wrote for the literary magazine Partisan Review in which he sometimes noted the incipient "revolution" in England to replace Churchill with a figure from the left. He eventually receded from this view and came to support the Churchill government. Other wartime writings, including from his diary, touch on wartime developments on the on both the home and fighting fronts. Some of these writings are interesting, but link to names and events that are obscure to current readers. His comments on the American contribution to the war effort seem stinting, and his remarks on American troops seen about London are critical to condescending at times. He is also hard on Mark Twain, so America and Americans apparently did not rank high on his list of the liked at this time. He writes frequently on the expected Nazi invasion of England and of the doing of the civilian support services such as the fire wardens and the home guards. Orwell served in both of these efforts.
The included letters are not impressive as these deal mainly with petty arguments among the literati or with his business arrangements with publishers.
Recommended for contemplative reading.
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