Review: 1984 in the 21st Century, an anthology

This collection of essays evaluates the classic science fiction dystopia "1984" and its relevance to 21st century life, particularly in the early Trump era. It was published in 2017, but it is worth a look now more than ever. Each of the authors found strong ties between then current politics and the various Orwellian metaphors (Newspeak, BlackWhite, War is Peace, etc.). David Brin's essay notes that "our civilization's success depends at least as much on the mistakes we avoid as the successes that we plan..." and that our freedoms depend on mutual accountability. He also notes that righteous indignation (at unfairness or exploitation or lies) plays a role in a social immune system against calamity. David Jester's essay told the story of a man he met who was so impacted by Orwell's message that he became a type of Johnnie Appleseed, buying up copies of 1984 and giving them away, because it was no longer taught in schools. Mike Siegel made the case that big media is Big Brother, and Mark W. Polite explained how 1984 predicted both fake news and alternative facts. There are 25 essays in all, with considerable room for disagreement with some of them, but this is well worth a space on your shelf.