Government surveillance reports spark sales for Orwell’s ‘1984,’ Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The country’s book-buyers are reading up on being watched.

Sales for dystopian classics such as George Orwell’s “1984” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” have been strong since news broke last week that the U.S. government had vast surveillance programs targeting phones and Internet records.

Several editions of Orwell’s “1984,” about an all-seeing government, were among top Amazon.com’s top 200 sellers as of Wednesday morning. Huxley’s story of a mindless future ranked No. 210 and was out of stock.

A perennial favourite of futuristic horror, Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” was ranked No. 75.

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