Product Description

Far in the future, the World Controllers have finally created the ideal society. In laboratories worldwide, genetic science has brought the human race to perfection. From the Alpha-Plus mandarin class to the Epsilon-Minus Semi-Morons, designed to perform menial tasks, man is bred and educated to be blissfully content with his pre-destined role.

But, in the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, Bernard Marx is unhappy. Harbouring an unnatural desire for solitude, feeling only distaste for the endless pleasures of compulsory promiscuity, Bernard has an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress…

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #665106 in Books
• Published on: 2000-01-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Bryan Appleyard doesn't really have much new to say about the future of human society in the face of genetic science advances, but he states his arguments simply, precisely and quickly. In fact, Appleyard's main purpose seems simply to be a call for awareness. In a time where new discoveries about DNA and human biochemistry come fast and furious, Appleyard preaches vigilance, lest we end up with the genetic equivalent of the atom bomb--which is a perfect example, he says, of what naïve scientists will do when their knowledge is unchecked by society. His main points are that scientific knowledge is not (and probably has never been) morally neutral, despite the protestations of well-meaning advocates of science; that new developments are not always good; that genetic screening and abortion as currently practiced are eugenics; and that the practice of eugenics, no matter how well disguised, will lead us to a future that looks disturbingly like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. We must decide for ourselves what we want before science and politics decide for us, says Appleyard. This short book is bound to anger scientists, religious leaders and people on both ends of the left-right political spectrum--Appleyard no doubt hopes it will get people talking about the "scientific juggernaut" of genetics. Brave New Worlds will also give readers a quick, anxious overview of the state of genetics-research policy in the wake of the first successful adult mammalian clone and the Human Genome Project, and plenty of food for thought about what it is to be human. --Therese Littleton

The Times
‘Such ingenious wit, derisive logic and swiftness of expression, Huxley’s resources of sardonic invention have never been more brilliantly displayed.’

Daily Telegraph
Brave New World is one of the most important books to have been published since the war.’

Customer Reviews

An essential read.
The question is incandescently clear: the future, perhaps not so distant future, heralds the demystification of man - but what will this mean for 'me' as an individual, and for 'us' as society? Appleyard explores the scientific strides being made towards the biological understanding of man and takes a large step back in order to assess the possible implications.

On his path, he alludes us to the history of scientific progress, reassuring us, that what scientists sometimes claim to be 'Truth', may turn out, after all, to be quite wrong. Using the contexts of eugenics, equality (or inequality and discrimination), concept of health, intelligence and the unsettling reality of suffering (but strength of the human will to survive) we learn more of the implications of scientific discovery - potentially good and bad. The realm of human experience as we know it will change, but will it be for the better? Perhaps not, if, the ambitiously claim, that biology will render the 'Secret of Life', actually crystallises.

Yet Appleyard, whilst not able to magically allay all of our fears of technological domination over man, does provide some comfort, at least in myself, that 'Science is Not Enough'. Should science be unable to provide an explanation for 'everything', perhaps the 'human spirit' will remain the ultimate mystery, incapable of scientific reductionism.

Whist I am certainly not a technophobe, I must make one admission: If, within my lifetime, all the mysteries of mankind unfold before me, explaining the very 'essence of man', I too, shall find 'the spider' at the bottom of the cup.

This is truly a thought provoking book, which invokes an urgency to keep the pages turning.