--- title: Sales of Dystopian Novels Have Been Spiking on Amazon Since the Election description: The rise of Donald Trump and his "alternative facts" administration has ushered in sales increases for books such as 1984, Brave New World, It Can't Happen Here, and Fahrenheit 451. authors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2017-01-25T17:29:12.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T05:04:40.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - Books - Literature - novels - trump word_count: 709 canonical: https://money.com/trump-1984-dystopian-novel-sales-brave-new-world/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![George Orwell's novel, 1984 is the chosen book for a midcoast Community Read project. A stack is on](https://img.money.com/2017/01/trump1984sales-em-481176003.jpg) It's widely known that President Donald Trump is [not a big reader](https://newrepublic.com/minutes/133566/donald-trump-doesnt-read-books). He hasn't read any [presidential biographies](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-doesnt-read-much-being-president-probably-wouldnt-change-that/2016/07/17/d2ddf2bc-4932-11e6-90a8-fb84201e0645_story.htm), asks for long reports to be boiled down to a few short pages, and frequently "gets bored and likes to watch TV," [Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/donald-trump-campaign-habits-234014) recently reported. Nonetheless, Trump's rise in politics has been accompanied by a swift rise in book sales—well, for certain books anyway. After Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway said White House press secretary Sean Spicer had used ["alternative facts"](https://time.com/4642689/kellyanne-conway-sean-spicer-donald-trump-alternative-facts/) over the weekend regarding the size of the inauguration audience, many noted that the phrase seemed like something straight out of George Orwell's *1984*. And sales of the classic dystopian novel, which portrays a terrifying totalitarian future in which the government spews propaganda like "Ignorance Is Strength," have skyrocketed since then. *1984* became the #1 best-selling book on [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/&tag=money0b40-20) this week, nearly 70 years after it was first published. Penguin Books just ordered a [reprint of 75,000 more copies](http://fortune.com/2017/01/25/donald-trump-kellyanne-conway-alternative-facts-1984-george-orwell/) of the book to keep up with surging demand. But *1984* isn't the only book experiencing a "Trump Bump." In Amazon's [Classic Literature & Fiction](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/10399/&tag=money0b40-20) category, 12 out of the top-selling 20 titles have been used recently as reference points for understanding the rise of Trump and his administration. Five of these entries are different editions of *1984*, it should be noted, but other bleak works describing alternate realities ruled by totalitarian and fascist regimes have seen sales increase swiftly as well. Here are some of the fresh bestsellers inspired (inadvertently) by Trump. ***1984*, by George Orwell** Orwell's most famous novel has enjoyed several sales bumps in recent years. In 2013, when [Edward Snowden leaked](http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/runner-up-edward-snowden-the-dark-prophet/) revelations about the NSA's widespread surveillance operations, [*1984* sales increased](http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/so-are-we-living-in-1984) dramatically amid comparisons to the book's "Big Brother" always watching citizens. Interestingly, at the end of 2015, when current Trump strategist Steve Bannon was still head of the alt-right publication [Breitbart.com](http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/12/29/orwells-1984-one-top-ten-bestsellers-2015-russia/), the site called attention to the fact that [*1984*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451524934/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0451524934&linkId=d0cdcc6a1350df998765f3ea440131c1) was one of the year's top 10 bestselling books *in Russia*. "That the Russians have turned to Orwell is quite telling," the site wrote at the time. "They know totalitarianism when they see it." As of Wednesday, *1984* is [Amazon's bestselling book](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/&tag=money0b40-20) overall. For the sake of comparison, it was the #89 bestseller on [Amazon in 2015](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/2015/books#5). Meanwhile, two versions of Orwell's [*Animal Farm*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451526341/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0451526341&linkId=13f21b2860ecd838dc28ecc335218261), the political allegory that serves as a screed against tyranny, are also among Amazon's top 20 bestselling works of Classic Literature. ***It Can't Happen Here*, by Sinclair Lewis** Lewis's satirical political novel, published in 1935 as the Nazis rose to power in Germany, tells of a fascist takeover in America. Buzz Windrip, the book's populist, authoritarian demagogue protagonist, has been [compared to Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/shortcuts/2016/oct/09/it-cant-happen-here-1935-novel-sinclair-lewis-predicted-rise-donald-trump) many times in recent years, and some say the novel basically [predicted Trump's rise](http://www.salon.com/2015/09/29/it_really_can_happen_here_the_novel_that_foreshadowed_donald_trumps_authoritarian_appeal/) in politics. Just after Trump won the 2016 election, the [book was so popular](https://money.com/sinclair-lewis-it-cant-happen-here-amazon/) it was listed as entirely sold out by many online sellers. As of Wednesday, [*It Can't Happen Here*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451465644/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0451465644&linkId=9a4651f737cbc1c2b3a739082e4d83d7) was ranked #5 in [Amazon's Classic Literature](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/10399/) category, and #26 overall. It wasn't in the top 100 for sales in 2015. ***Brave New World*, by Aldous Huxley** Often compared to *1984*, [*Brave New World*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060850523/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0060850523&linkId=b21c20cc28b548980f0661b0d0d9744f), published in 1932, foretells a dystopian future in which the people are manipulated and controlled by way of entertainment, distraction, and drugs. It currently ranks #6 in [Amazon's Classic Literature](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/10399/), and the #28 bestselling book overall. *Brave New World* wasn't in the top 100 for sales in 2015. The Kindle editions of [*Brave New World*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060850523/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0060850523&linkId=b21c20cc28b548980f0661b0d0d9744f) and another Huxley book, [*Island*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061561797/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0061561797&linkId=428aa3c0138dc69ee6f94d31b8da24e4), which also serves as a warning against dangers such as ignorance in politics and totalitarianism, are in [Amazon's Classic Literature](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/10399/) top 20 right now as well. ***Fahrenheit 451*, by Ray Bradbury** In [*Fahrenheit 451*](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451673310/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1451673310&linkId=058c5986976a2970f9dba3f3c46f3316), published in 1953, one of the characters says that "the word 'intellectual' became the swear word it deserved to be." The observation "seems astonishingly prescient during this run-up to the 2016 presidential election," the [*New York Times*](http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/12/29/what-science-fiction-movie-or-novel-is-most-prescient-today/fahrenheit-451-by-ray-bradbury) noted in late 2015. Set in the 24th century, when books are considered evil and people are controlled by censorship, propaganda, and TV, Bradbury's novel ranked #7 in [Amazon's Classic Literature](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/10399/) category, and #33 overall as of Wednesday. For all of 2015, Fahrenheit 451 was Amazon's [#66 bestselling book](https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/2015/books#4). ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/trump-1984-dystopian-novel-sales-brave-new-world/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Politics", "item": "https://money.com/politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sales of Dystopian Novels Have Been Spiking on Amazon Since the Election" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/trump-1984-dystopian-novel-sales-brave-new-world/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/trump-1984-dystopian-novel-sales-brave-new-world/", "name": "Sales of Dystopian Novels Have Been Spiking on Amazon Since the Election", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2017-01-25T17:29:12.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/trump-1984-dystopian-novel-sales-brave-new-world/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/trump-1984-dystopian-novel-sales-brave-new-world/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-17T05:04:40.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Sales of Dystopian Novels Have Been Spiking on Amazon Since the Election", "articleSection": "Economy and Politics", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2017/01/trump1984sales-em-481176003.jpg", "width": 2000, "height": 1312, "caption": "George Orwell's novel, 1984 is the chosen book for a midcoast Community Read project. 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