NSA surveillance scandal sends sales of Orwell’s ‘1984’ soaring
12 Jun 2013
Sales of George Orwell's novel '1984' – which has the famous line, ''Big Brother is watching'' – are soaring following the ongoing National Security Administration surveillance scandal, with reports pouring in this week about the US government collecting phone and Internet records on millions of Americans as well as in countries abroad like India.
Some editions are moving onto Amazon's Movers & Shakers List, and one even became the 100th best-selling book late Tuesday.
'1984' is about a future fictional totalitarian state, where the authorities are constantly tracking the thoughts and movements of its citizens. 'Big Brother' can even look into your house with compulsory TVs that also work as spy cams. It was first published in 1949.
The book on Tuesday rose to No4 on Amazon's list of 'Movers and Shakers'. Sales of Orwell's classic have risen an astonishing 5,771 per cent, with a current sales rank of 213, up from 12,507 just a few days ago.
It's a nice birthday present for the 1949 novel, which marked its 64th anniversary on 8 June. The book has of late been dismissed by readers and critics as a turgid exposition of a far-fetched situation, but the recent revelations have made Orwell's "Big Brother" seem more relevant than ever.
Edward Snowden's leaks about the NSA's massive collection of data from the phone and Internet records of Americans have given rise to concerns over loss of privacy. "Throwing out such a broad net of surveillance is exactly the kind of threat Orwell feared," Orwell biographer Michael Shelden said.
On Friday, President Obama referenced the novel when he defended the programme, saying, "In the abstract, you can complain about Big Brother and how this is a potential program run amok, but when you actually look at the details, then I think we've struck the right balance."
It's not the first time that the news out of Washington has helped to sell novels: In 2008, the bank bailouts and passage of the fiscal stimulus package gave rise to a bump in sales for Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."
