The Road to Wigan Pier

By: George Orwell

Narrated by: Jeremy Northam

A graphic and biting polemic that still holds a fierce political relevance and impact despite being written over half a century ago. First published in 1937 it charts George Orwell's observations of working-class life during the 1930s in the industrial heartlands of Yorkshire and Lancashire. His depictions of social injustice and rising unemployment, the dangerous working conditions in the mines amid general squalor and hunger also bring together many of the ideas explored in his later works and novels.

©2012 Canongate Books (P)2012 George Orwell

not what I expected

it went by too quick. I'm the furthest from a political socialist, and I absolutely loved the world he described on his way. from the scabs on the spines of coal miners to his self reflection over other socialists and his own action really are one ponder I wish I read this years ago.

A classic

As relevant today as it was 80 years ago. A must read for anyone interested in the history and politics of the last century.

Class a pathogen

"You can sympathize with a murderer, a sodomite, but bot if his breath stinks." Great insight on the class system.

Well read and informative

Great perspective on mining, socialism, communism, and fascism. You would never think how much something as simple as canned food could play an enormous role in society. The reader put great emotion into the story and made me feel like he was the actual author at these locations and in that period of time.

Censored. This is Orwell, remember?

A number of words were bleeped. I can't tell you how aggravating it is to purchase a book as an adult, and have someone choose which words I ought to hear. Wonderful book overall. Orwell deserves his full credit. The narrator sounded excellent to. But hearing that bleep made my blood boil.

A critique of Socialism by a Socialist.

It was an interesting read, specially after reading "The gulag archipelago" and "Mien Kampf"!
G. Orwell's critiques of Socialism was on point in my opinion, very reasonable and not biased as well as being realistic. The dangers he was warning of were also reasonable. However, I felt that his response in defense of Socialism as a solution to the problems at hand wasn't as strong as to convince me as a debater who've been at this topic for a long time now.

Very pertinent message in today’s political landscape

This book was a very interesting read - the first part was an excellent ethnography of coal miners in the UK - followed by a very well thought out argument for moderate socialist policy - rather than the misguided identity politics we see today. George Orwell remains one of my favorite writers of all time.

As insightful as ever

Listen to it at 2.5x speed. Interesting to read it with the knowledge of hindsight.

Inspiring

The true meaning of socialism is the power of cooperation with understanding that classes exist and rewards to the hard work should triumph

This book persuaded me to leave my 1st review.

"To abolish class distinctions is to abolish a part of yourself".

There are so many nuggets of wisdom in this book that I just finished my 2nd time of listening to it and will likely start the 3rd sometime next week. As you can imagine, I'm a white working class man, the grandson of coal miners. I'm from Yorkshire and this book touched me.

The reading was fantastic. Whoever narrated it, did so with charisma, charm, and interest. They made all of the relevant distinctions in their voice, tone, pitch, and accent. When he switched to a Yorkshire accent, it made me laugh out loud.

Thank you for this book.

Next, I'm looking for the book "Life at the Bottom" by Theodore Dalrymple.