NSA Scandal Catapults Orwell's '1984' To Bestseller List

George Orwell’s “1984” has recently made it onto Amazon’s bestsellers list -- with sales booming -- and the credit belongs to our government.

“Thanks to the ongoing National Security Administration surveillance scandal, George Orwell’s ‘1984’ is enjoying a surge in popularity, landing at No. 4 on Amazon’s list of ‘Movers and Shakers,’” the Los Angeles Times reported. “Sales of Orwell’s classic have risen an astonishing 5,771% as of Tuesday morning, with a current sales rank of 213, up from 12,507 just a few days ago. A different edition has even made it onto Amazon’s top 100 bestsellers list. It’s a nice birthday present for the 1949 novel, which marked its 64th anniversary on June 8 amid revelations that made Orwell’s ‘Big Brother’ seem more relevant than ever.”

I suppose readers need the reminder that, as Orwell wrote, nothing is your own “except the few cubic centimeters inside your skull.”