Orwell: The Road to Airstrip One

by Ian Slater

In Moulmein, in Lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people ... So begins one of Orwell's most famous essays. In The Road to Airstrip One Ian Slater explains why Orwell was hated in Moulmein and takes us on a fascinating intellectual journey that traces the development of Orwell's political and social criticism. Using a thematic approach, Slater also examines Orwell's self-criticism and, finally, the hidden and corrosive dangers of state and self-imposed censorship in a security-obsessed world. policeman in Burma, through his years as a struggling poet, dishwasher, tramp in Paris, and tutor, schoolmaster, and bookshop assistant in London, to his critical experiences during the Spanish Civil War. Slater takes us beyond the events of Orwell's life to the bitter satire of the Russian Revolution in Animal Farm and the horrifying terror of Room 101 in 1984, Orwell's final novel, and shows that 1984 is as much a warning about the state of mind we call totalitarianism as it is a prophecy of an actual political state. As the war on terrorism continues and governments demand ever-increasing power over the individual in order to combat terrorism, The Road to Airstrip One, reissued during Orwell's centenary, warns us that he who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster.

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Ian Slater is a thriller writer based in Vancouver, Canada. He has authored twenty-three adventure thrillers, including Firespill, Sea Gold, Air Glow Red, Storm, Deep Chill, Forbidden Zone, MacArthur Must Die, Showdown, Battle Front, and Manhunt. He is also known for his World War III series, which includes eleven stand-alone books, among them WW III: DARPA Alpha.
In addition to fiction, he has written Orwell: The Road to Airstrip One, a widely praised study of George Orwell’s social and political thought. He served as editor of the academic quarterly Pacific Affairs for twelve years and has contributed book reviews to major North American newspapers. His work also extends to film and radio, having written and produced radio dramas and short stories for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as the screenplay for the National Film Board’s animated film Flash Point.
Before turning to writing, Slater held various roles, including working for the Australian navy, serving as a cipher clerk for the country’s Department of External Affairs, and acting as a defense officer for the Australian Joint Intelligence Bureau. He later worked as a marine geology technician, undertaking research voyages in the Pacific. Holding a doctorate in political science, he has taught courses in the humanities as both an author and lecturer.

Reviews

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic overview of Orwell's life and works - it runs a bit long in a few places but the extra detail also contributes to a sense that you're getting a very deep, and well-written, account of both the man and the subject matter.

The concluding section on Orwell's global view (and specifically Animal Farm and 1984) is particularly good and does enough pulling in of previous discussions in earlier chapters that it could stand alone as a full analysis of the worldview (and its insidious causes) that Orwell wanted to place under his satyrical microscope.