One (1953)

“A thriller, though physical danger is rarely present; a detective story without a detective; a vibrant chase without physical movement; and a restatement of an important ethical point which probably badly needs to be restated now. Compared to it, most of the Utopian writing of this century. . . is mere science fiction.”—New York Times

“Karp is a highly skilled writer, and one whose handling of dialogue is notably good. He has created an atmosphere as chilling and as full of warning as any recent volume, and he has written a particularly good novel.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“One is perhaps even more terrifying [than Orwell’s 1984].”—Saturday Review

“A brilliant piece of satirical and prophetic writing.”—Daily Mail

In a dateless future, a seemingly benevolent totalitarian State has eliminated poverty and crime and brought the happiness of conformity to its citizens. Professor Burden believes he too is a loyal citizen, but the Department of Internal Examination discovers that he harbors unconscious doubts about its methods and secretly values his individuality. Horrified at the subtlety of this heresy against the State, an examiner named Lark takes Burden on as a special project. He is convinced he can break Burden of his feelings of individuality and return him to being a normal, productive member of society—by persuasion if possible, but by complete obliteration of his identity, if necessary. First published in 1953, One embodies the paranoia of totalitarianism, where personal freedoms are a threat to the State and individualism has to be brutally controlled. A taught, psychological thriller, this book ranks with the works of Orwell and Huxley as among the great dystopian novels of the era.