1984 Today

1984 Today is a Kindle Single type of book that summarizes many topics discussed on the podcast of the same name. Richard Wood, best-selling author of the What They Meant to Say series of political mini-books, listened to the shows and culled the essence from each show, as well as listening to episodes that were never published, provided to him by the podcasters.

From the Introduction:
"The purpose of this book is to compare the modern world to the novel 1984, helping you see things predicted there that came true, as well as things that are even worse than author George Orwell could have imagined.  In addition, we will bring up predictions from other fictional works, such as Orwell’s Animal Farm, or Patrick McGoohan’s ground-breaking TV series, The Prisoner.  We hope readers will question the things they see and hear on their telescreens and consider ways to improve our present situation in their personal lives.  With enough readers thinking for themselves, it is possible that together, we can influence society towards a better future, and not a dystopian Hunger Games ending."

If you are a student looking for ways to compare the novel 1984 to modern society, the chapters cover specific topics that seem to come straight from the book, like the CCTV cameras in London, celebrity confessions on television, and pop music seemingly produced by machines. The book also includes a bullet point summary of events that are reminiscent of plot points in the book in the appendix.

If you are interested in how to opt out of the ever-increasing surveillance, there is a second Appendix devoted to that, with suggestions to help keep your sanity in the face of a world where we seemed to be plugged in to the Matrix all the time.

Praise for Richard Wood's What Mitt Romney Meant to Say:

"This book is serious political satire."

"Certainly by reading this very humorous rendition, you might just think that anyone running for office is a complete idiot."