Ape and Essence
by Aldous Huxley
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 297)
Read in April, 1994
recommends it for:
DEVO fans, 1930's musical fans, sci-fi Hollywood types
While I was reading this book I laughed and realized this is where DEVO got all their shit from. Huxley, back in the 1930's said (in this brilliant novel) that while we technologically advance we will behave more and more like crazed apes..."The Truth Behind De-Evolution". I'm sure the Mothersbaugh and Casale Brothers read this book more than a few times when they attended Kent State in Ohio.
Huxley switches time span gears like crazy, veering from a Darwinian 1930's Busby Berkeley...more
Huxley switches time span gears like crazy, veering from a Darwinian 1930's Busby Berkeley...more
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Read in May, 2007
I remember a feeling of disappointment or sorry at the end of Brave New World, a feeling that there was no hope. I like Ape and Essence because the reader is left with at least a sliver of hope that the main characters are going to be alright, find happiness and love. It was a book that examines religion and science and power and the masses. I was struck many times over by strong parallels to our current society and at one point found myself asking very hard questions about the lives we all l...more
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Written in 1948 after WWI, this book by Aldous Huxley is an excellent read, especially for fans of Brave New World. Ape and Essence is set in the year 2108, and predicts that progress and civilization may just be the end of humanity as we know it. I would recommend this short read (only 205 pages in large type) to anyone who is worried about the current course of history, interested in the dynamics of religion and societal control, and the essence of humanity.
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Read in March, 2001
Reading this book wasn't an easy task for me. Not that I disliked it. But the events there and relations were too much close to my psychological challenges, so a few times I was going to throw the book in a window. However, now, 6 years later, I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks that people stay people even in the most extreme conditions and the power of natural human relations isn't the least one helping us to win the situation.
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Read in September, 1967
I read this book after reading Brave New World. I didn't understand the reason for the screenplay format at the time but I now realize that Huxley was using it as a distancing device.
The social satire was not quite as biting as in Brave New World but nonetheless Huxley's criticism of the post WWII victorious West was trenchant.
The social satire was not quite as biting as in Brave New World but nonetheless Huxley's criticism of the post WWII victorious West was trenchant.
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a departure for Huxley- detractors need understand the desires/needs of a mind of his caliber to stave stagnation and venture from time to time. pleasingly idiosyncratic, weighted with texture and gravity of subject.
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Chris by:
Girlfriend as christmas giftrecommends it for: Everyone
Awesome book, I loved every page.
Large, colorful vocabulary and descriptors assists in projecting a world post nuclear war and the life and civilization that remains.
I was hooked from the first few pages.
Large, colorful vocabulary and descriptors assists in projecting a world post nuclear war and the life and civilization that remains.
I was hooked from the first few pages.
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Read in January, 2008
A wonderful dystopian literature where the story shifts so much from the original intent to the end...tied back up again. True craft of storytelling, and a harsh parody of Hitler's Germany.
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An interesting read about the end of the world told in script form. The discussion about the nature of men between a young scientist and the devil is worth the read alone.
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Read in January, 1992
Strangely classic Huxley...disturbing, stunning, and thoroughly unique...makes me want to try some mescaline...
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Read in February, 1998
this was another one on my father's shelf
love it and can't find it at the local chain bookstore
love it and can't find it at the local chain bookstore
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Read in January, 1995
Disturbing, challenging - Huxley pushes every button about what you think evil is and what human is.
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Scathing. Americans don't come off well here. But then, neither does Huxley's supriority.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.73 (229 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.74 (227 ratings) number of reviews: 16popular shelves
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quote
"The leech's kiss, the squid's embrace,
The prurient ape's defiling touch:
And do you like the human race?
No, not much."
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