Beginning With a Dilemma About Whether He Spends More Money on Reading or Smoking, George Orwell's Entertaining and Uncompromising Essays Go on to Explore Everything From the Perils of Second-Hand Bookshops to the Dubious Profession of Being a Critic, From Freedom of the Press to What Patriotism Really Means. Throughout History, Some Books Have Changed the World. They Have Transformed the Way We See Ourselves - and Each Other. They Have Inspired Debate, Dissent, War and Revolution. They Have Enlightened, Outraged, Provoked and Comforted. They Have Enriched Lives - and Destroyed Them. Now Penguin Brings You the Works of the Great Thinkers, Pioneers, Radicals and Visionaries Whose Ideas Shook Civilization and Helped Make Us Who We Are.