{"product_id":"the-duty-to-stand-aside-nineteen-eighty-four-and-the-wartime-quarrel-of-george-orwell-and-alex-comfort-paperback","title":"The Duty to Stand Aside: Nineteen Eighty-Four and the Wartime Quarrel of George Orwell and Alex Comfort - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eEric Laursen\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Duty to Stand Aside \u003c\/em\u003etells the story of one of the most intriguing yet little-known literary-political feuds--and friendships--in 20th-century English literature. It examines the arguments that divided George Orwell, future author of \u003cem\u003eAnimal Farm \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eNineteen Eighty-Four\u003c\/em\u003e, and Alex Comfort, poet, biologist, anarchist-pacifist, and future author of the international bestseller \u003cem\u003eThe Joy of Sex--\u003c\/em\u003eduring WWII. Orwell maintained that standing aside, or opposing Britain's war against fascism, was \"objectively pro-fascist.\" Comfort argued that intellectuals who did not stand aside and denounce their own government's atrocities--in Britain's case, saturation bombing of civilian population centers--had \"sacrificed their responsible attitude to humanity.\"\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLater, Comfort and Orwell developed a friendship based on appreciation of each other's work and a common concern about the growing power and penetration of the State--a concern that deeply influenced the writing of \u003cem\u003eNineteen Eighty-Four\u003c\/em\u003e. Shortly before his death in 1950, however, Orwell would accuse Comfort of being \"anti-British\" and \"temperamentally pro-totalitarian\" in a memo he prepared secretly for the Foreign Office--a fact that Comfort, who died in 2000, never knew.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLaursen's book\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003etakes a fresh look at the Orwell-Comfort quarrel and the lessons it holds for our very different world--in which war has been replaced by undeclared \"conflicts,\" civilian bombing is even more enthusiastically practiced, and moral choices between two sides are rarely straightforward.\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eEric Laursen is an independent journalist, activist, and commentator. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe People's Pension: The Struggle to Defend Social Security Since Reagan\u003c\/i\u003e (AK Press, 2012), a BookList Editor's Choice selection; and co-author of \u003ci\u003eUnderstanding the Crash\u003c\/i\u003e (Soft Skull Press, Spring 2010), which tells the story of the 2008 economic meltdown in text-and-graphics format. His work has appeared in a wide variety of publications, including \u003ci\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Village Voice\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIn These Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eZ Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Indypendent\u003c\/i\u003e, HuffingtonPost.com, and \u003ci\u003eThe Arkansas Review\u003c\/i\u003e. He is currently writing a biography of Alex Comfort. A graduate of Columbia University, he lives in Buckland, Massachusetts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 180\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.5 x 7.9 x 4.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 12, 2018\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51770097762592,"sku":"9781849353182","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/99619607296c1943d83c5eb6401d61ca.webp?v=1780364284","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-duty-to-stand-aside-nineteen-eighty-four-and-the-wartime-quarrel-of-george-orwell-and-alex-comfort-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}