The Origins of Totalitarianism

Based on the BBC television series, John Berger’s Ways of Seeing is a unique look at the way we view art, published as part of the Penguin on Design series in Penguin Modern Classics. ‘Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.’ ‘But there is also another sense in which seeing comes before words. […]

EN AV 1970-TALETS MEST UPPMÄRKSAMMADE FILMER När Katharina Blum hamnar i säng med en ung man som hon mött på en fest visar det sig vara ett livsavgörande misstag. Morgonen efter stormar polisen lägenheten på jakt efter gästen, som är en efterlyst terrorist. Men eftersom han redan flytt arresteras den intet ont anande Katharina istället. […]

Hannah Arendt’s penetrating observations of the modern world, based on a profound knowledge of the past, have been fundamental to our understanding of the political landscape. On Revolution is her classic exploration of a phenomenon that has reshaped the globe. From the eighteenth-century rebellions in America and France to the explosive changes of the twentieth-century, Arendt […]

‘Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past’ Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and […]