Why Orwell endures

Such is the title of a NY Times Book review by Geoffrey Wheatcroft on February 14th. It is really just a reminder of how valuable Orwell still is as the most famous public intellectual of the past 100 years. He is best known of course for the dire warnings in "1984" which of course still resonate. Remember the slogans: War is Peace...like our wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanastan following one upon the other...Freedom is slavery...like the Patriot Act...Ignorance is Strength...like the Tea Party movement and Sarah Palin. But Orwell wasn't just a prophet of gloom he was a wise and witty essayist as well. He wrote on how to make a perfect cup of tea and his idea of the perfect pub as well as Boys Weeklies and naughty postcards. He had a passion for liberty and intellectual honesty and that's why he will always endure.