Ebook: Journey through utopia: a critical examination of imagined worlds in Western literature

Journey through Utopia is a richly detailed and critically compelling examination of utopian literature, beginning with Platos Republic and continuing through to Huxleys Brave New World. Utopias have been penned with diverse intentions: some as pictures of an ideal society, some as blueprints for action, yet others, especially in times of severe censorship, as covert criticisms of existing conditions. Marie Louise Berneri exposes the dark shadow that lingers above most utopian works by emphasizing the intolerant and authoritarian nature of these visions, and she warns of the doom that awaits those foolish enough to put their trust in an ordered and regimented world. This new edition is framed with an introduction from Matthew S. Adams that situates Berneris work in the context of her life, and concludes with an afterword from Rhiannon Firth that extends Berneris analysis into contemporary utopias. Journey through Utopia is a necessary companion, and in many cases an antidote, to imagined fictions from antiquity to the present.