Books by Aldous Huxley

Book SynopsisOn vacation from school, Denis goes to stay at Crome, an English country house inhabitated by several of Huxley's most outlandish characters--from Mr. Barbecue-Smith, who writes 1,500 publishable words an hour by "getting in touch" with his "subconscious," to Henry Wimbush, who is obsessed with writing the definitive HISTORY OF CROME. Denis's stay proves to be a disaster amid his weak attempts to attract the girl of his dreams and the ridicule he endures regarding his plan to write a novel about love and art. Lambasting the post-Victorian standards of morality, CROME YELLOW is a witty masterpiece that, in F. Scott Fitzgerald's words, "is too irnonic to be called satire and too scornful to be called irony."Trade Review"Fine satirical writing. Crome Yellow is determinedly eccentric and unflaggingly delightful."--Bookman

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Book SynopsisThis third volume of a projected six reinforces Huxley’s stature as one of the most acute and informed observers of the social and ideological trends of the years between the world wars. It contains the important collection of essays "Music at Night" as well as the majority of Huxley’s journalistic writing for the Hearst newspapers in the United States and for a variety of British periodicals such as Nash’s Pall Mall Magazine, the Evening Standard, and Time and Tide. Much of the attraction of the Hearst essays lies in their vivid period detail: references to the raucous voices of Nazi broadcasters, speeches by Roosevelt and Stalin, Soviet five-year plans, and the effects of the Great Depression combine to provide a rich context for Huxley’s increasingly active role in organized pacifism and his sense of standing on the threshold of a new era. The essays of "Music at Night" define this trend as “the New Romanticism,” a celebration of Enlightenment modernity and an excessive faith in instrumental reason and applied science. Huxley was both intrigued by and suspicious of state planning and centralized bureaucratic authority. The essays in Volume III (and the volume to follow) register his growing ambivalence about the role of technocracy and science in an era of experimentation in the concentration of executive and legislative power. At their best, Huxley’s essays stand among the finest examples of the genre in modern literature. "He was among the few writers who...played with ideas so freely, so gaily, with such virtuosity, that the responsive reader...was dazzled and excited."—Isaiah Berlin.Trade ReviewPerusing Volume One, I was struck by the sensitivity and the unerring perception in these unknown reviews, ultimately my most enjoyable reading of the year. -- Robert Craft, conductor and writer on music * Times Literary Supplement, (Books Of The Year, Dec.) *There is much to enjoy in these volumes...they are important as a document of his times. * Economist *The editors...have done their job with commendable thoroughness. -- P. N. Furbank * Times Literary Supplement *A striking mastery of English prose as well as a profusion of ideas and insights. -- Stefan Kanfer * The Wall Street Journal *An important and admirable publishing event. * Atlantic Monthly *He writes with an easy assurance and a command of classical and modern cross-references. -- Christopher Hitchens * Los Angeles Times *To read all the essays in sequence is like being enrolled at the college of your dreams. * The New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisIn this fifth of six volumes in a major publishing enterprise, Huxley continues to explore the role of science and technology in modern culture, and seeks a final level of foundational Truth that might provide the basis for his growing interest in religious mysticism. His philosophy of history took its final form in this period. At their best, Huxley's essays stand among the finest examples of the genre in modern literature. "A remarkable publishing event...beautifully produced and authoritatively edited."—Jeffrey Hart. "He writes with an easy assurance and a command of classical and modern cross-references,"—Christopher Hitchens, Los Angeles Times. "There is much to enjoy in these volumes...they are important as a document of his times, and of a window on to a stage in the evolution of his mind."—Economist. "You have to marvel at the range of [Huxley’s] interests and the intelligence with which he explores them....What we experience in this high journalism is a man of intelligence, sensibility, and formidable erudition engaging his era and struggling for equilibrium while sharing the widespread perception that something ghastly has happened to European civilization...."—Washington TimesTrade ReviewPerusing Volume One, I was struck by the sensitivity and the unerring perception in these unknown reviews, ultimately my most enjoyable reading of the year. -- Robert Craft, conductor and writer on music * Times Literary Supplement, (Books Of The Year, Dec.) *The editors...have done their job with commendable thoroughness. -- P. N. Furbank * Times Literary Supplement *An important and admirable publishing event. * Atlantic Monthly *Fascinating...a welcome collection. * National Review *Huxley was among the few writers who played with ideas so freely, so gaily, with such virtuosity, that the responsive reader was dazzled and excited. -- Isaiah BerlinA remarkable publishing event...these volumes return Huxley from our forgetfulness so as to enjoy his fine intelligence, prose and exemplary strengths. -- Jeffrey Hart * The Washington Times *His reading was immense, his taste was impeccable, and his ear acute...His place in English literature is unique and is certainly assured. -- T. S. EliotThere is much to enjoy in these volumes...they are important as a document of his times. * Economist *He writes with an easy assurance and a command of classical and modern cross-references. -- Christopher Hitchens * Los Angeles Times *To read all the essays in sequence is like being enrolled at the college of your dreams. * The New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisOf the ten thousand letters that Aldous Huxley wrote, only a fraction have been published. Those that were once considered too sensitive for publication can now be included in a wholly new collection. James Sexton's thoughtful selection opens new perspectives on one of the giants of prose. Huxley's letters movingly depict his courageous battle with almost total blindness. Later letters to his patroness demonstrate the brilliance that would soon gain Huxley an international reputation as one of his generation's major satirists. Gradually the letters reveal a shift from cynical satirist to a committed critic of fascism. The letters also provide plentiful insights into the London and New York theater scenes, and vivid discussions of Hollywood's film industry.Trade ReviewAldous Huxley's letters represent a valuable contribution to literary history-and an entertaining one. They reflect his high seriousness, and the extraordinary range of his cultural interests; at the same time they abound in witty gossip and shrewdly observed social detail. They also reveal many unexpected aspects of his personality and his private life. The Huxley who emerges from these pages is both formidable and very human. He can sometimes be arrogant or wrong-headed, too-but that doesn't make him any less readable. -- John GrossA fascinating and revelatory glimpse into the mental engine room of one of the twentieth-century's most commanding men of letters. Huxley knew everybody, and everybody knew him: these letters provide a vital record of an extraordinary moment in Europe's history as well as a portrait of an extraordinary man. A volume as entertaining as it is illuminating. -- Roger KimballThese newly published letters of Aldous Huxley are like the discovery of buried treasure. It is as if some leading figure from the Age of Enlightenment had survived into the present. Expressing himself so naturally and often wittily in these letters, he sets a lasting example of intelligence and humanity. -- David Pryce JonesHis reading was immense, his taste was impeccable, and his ear acute...His place in English literature is unique and is certainly assured. -- T. S. EliotHuxley was among the few writers who played with ideas so freely, so gaily, with such virtuosity, that the responsive reader was dazzled and excited. -- Isaiah Berlin"An illuminating work.... Sexton helps reveal Huxley more fully than ever before." * Publishers Weekly *A book of letters, many previously unpublished, reinforces the impression that Aldous Huxley was attracted to eccentric ideas ... ENGROSSING. * The New York Times *Main pleasures here derive from correspondence with two women, one of whom Huxley shared as a lover with his wife. * The New York Times *Brings a new perspective on the personal and intellectual life of a giant of modern English prose. * Sarasota Herald-Tribune *Remarkable scope...its hundreds of never-before-published letters recommend it for large academic libraries. -- Paulina Taglienti * Library Journal *Letters extend one’s sense of Huxley’s ubiquitous presence in 20th-century intellectual society....Attractive collection represents diligent research....Recommended. * CHOICE *A powerful gathering of his personal and intellectual life in letters-most of them published for the first time. * Midwest Book Review *We see Huxley's full range: husband, traveler, lover, aesthete, and scathing social commentator....Sexton has done an invaluable service. -- ELLIE THERMANSEN * The New Criterion *There are wonderful things in these letters: dazzling historical, literary-critical and etymological excursions; very funny gossip; reflections on Huxley's writing…and on his increasingly religious reading and sympathies. -- JEREMY TREGLOWN * Times Literary Supplement *Sexton's attractive collection represents diligent research in dozens of libraries, and his useful introduction places the letters in the context of Huxley's life and friendships. * CHOICE *

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Book SynopsisAldous Huxley's lifelong concern with the dichotomy between passion and reason finds its fullest expression both thematically and formally in his masterpiece Point Counter Point. By presenting a vision of life in which diverse aspects of experience are observed simultaneously, Huxley characterizes the symptoms of "the disease of modern man' in the manner of a composer—themes and characters are repeated, altered slightly, and played off one another in a tone that is at once critical and sympathetic.First published in 1928, Huxley's satiric view of intellectual life in the '20s is populated with characters based on such celebrities of the time as D. H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, Sir Oswald Mosley, Nancy Cunard, and John Middleton Murray, as well as Huxley himself. A major work of the twentieth century and a monument of literary modernism, this edition includes an introduction by acclaimed novelist Nicholas Mosley (author of Hopeful Monsters and the son of Sir Oswald Mosley).Along with Brave New World (written a few years later), Point Counter Point is Huxley's most concentrated attack on the scientific attitude and its effect on modern culture. Trade Review“The aim of this book is not idle amusement for the sophisticated, but a grasping of the intellectual Zeitgeist and a biting criticism of it. . . . Point Counter Point is the most powerful and vitriolic indictment of the intellectual world we have had in years.”—New York Times“Point Counter Point is the modem Vanity Fair, and Mr. Huxley is the Thackeray de nos jours. . . . It might have been said in its own day that Vanity Fair was the richest novel in substance and the most comprehensive that had appeared in English. The same thing might be said today of Point Counter Point.”—New Republic“Unflagging in its spirits and unflagging in its intelligence, throughout more than four hundred pages it vindicates Mr. Huxley’s right to be considered the most able of contemporary satirists and the most perfect representative of the mood which he describes.”—New York Herald Tribune

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Book SynopsisA private printed, limited edition facsimile of Aldous Huxley's 1940 essay on the significance and power of words. An argument as timely as it is timeless, Aldous Huxley's Words and Their Meanings argues the significance and power of words. A less well-known work originally published by The Ward Ritchie Press in 1940, Huxley's essay arrived at the end of the Great Depression and coincided with U.S. entry into WWII, a time when global relations were heavily impacted by the craft and manipulation of language. Words and Their Meanings was selected as one ofthe Western Books of 1940, which was a celebration and recognition of fine printing. Huxley wrote that "words are magical in the way they affect the minds of those who use them" while displaying his insight and proficiency with language. He blends accessible elements of linguistic theory, semiotics and philosophy with his erudite style. Alvin Lustig is recognized for introducing principles of modern art to graphic design, with contributions tobook design, interior design, and typography. His abstract style and innovative approach to typeface design became a trademark of titles published by New Directions Publishing. RIT Press presents a privately printed, limited edition facsimile of this title. This fine edition has been produced in partnership with More Vang, Alexandria, Virginia and designed byAlvin Lustig. He is recognized for introducing principles of modern art to graphic design, with contributions to book design, interior design, and typography. ALDOUS HUXLEY was a novelist, poet, and philosopher who relocated from England to the U.S. in 1937. He lived in southern California where he initiallyworked as a Hollywood screenwriter, later achieving success with his short stories, poetry, essays, and novels, especially Brave New World (1932).

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Book SynopsisÜbergangsstufe und Sekundarstufe IIDie Reihe bietet Romane, Stücke und Erzählungen mit Fragen, die Jugendliche ganz persönlich betreffen. Sie enthält ungekürzte Texte bekannter Autoren, die mit Annotationen und Materialien zu Autor und Werk versehen sind.

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Book SynopsisThe relationships between an eminent physicist, his beautiful wife and an inexperienced young man who aspires to become a scientist are transformed, by a strange combination of desire and illness, into the manifestation of a state of grace that seems to be typical of God. Through a very intelligent plot and deployed with the insight, irony and ease that characterize it, Huxley proposes a charming and very funny novel, but with a double background.

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Book SynopsisCuando en 1947 Aldous Huxley escribió el artículo que da título a este volumen no podía imaginar siquiera que quince años más tarde su biblioteca de Los Ángeles sería realmente pasto de las llamas, pero es ésta una coincidencia y una anticipación muy propia del autor de obras como "Un mundo feliz" y "La isal". Planetarse y analizar problemas que apenas empezaban a vislumbrarse, además de un estilo particularmente afilado y un muy riguroso pensamiento, es un ade las señas de identidad de Huxley, de quien se reunen aquí ensayos sobre temas tan diversos y sugerentes como los "Demasiados libros", "La sinceridad en el arte", "Los Best sellers", "La difusión del arte mediocre" o las posibilidades de las "Drogas que moldean la mente de los hombres".Una buena dosis de Huxley quintaesenciado que demuestra la absoluta vigencia de uno de los grandes escritores del siglo XX.

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