Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I just finished reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I sat down one evening and got through about 1/3 of the book. It was unbelievable, and I didn't want to put it down. I dont want to do a "long-story;short" on this book, because I'm hoping you'll read it for yourself if you have not already, but I will say, the first third of the book was fascinating to me that a man in the 1930's could have fathomed some of the concepts that were in this book, the scientific developments he referenced had to be seen in his day as just as extreme as people being teleported star-trek style, but when put into perspective, (although still a bit far-fetched) it is what current scientists are trying to attain, and feel it is within their grasp. Cloning, embryonic stem cell research, cell manipulation; these things are currently in practice, although not quite perfected. How far ahead of his time this man Huxley was. I was very impressed at his foresight........then I read on. The second night I sat down again to this book, I was still impressed at how previous his thinking was in matters of scientific advancement. I had no clue how much deeper this book would get in the second 2/3's. I was impressed by the first portion of the book. I was blown away, astounded and frightened by the latter part. As I read it I found myself thinking that his ideas of this society were so outrageous that it was unfathomable. Then I would pause and almost correct my thinking. These outrageous things that are taking place in this "utopian" society are not so far off from the way we live today. In the book, God has been "done away with", he was no longer referenced, recognized. His presence was not needed, since there was no moral compass anymore. That is a somewhat unrealistic theme in book, because we as a society would NEVER try to "do away" with God, right? I mean, we have "In God We trust" on our money, we wouldn't take it off, would we? We wouldn't take God out of our schools, would we??? Yes, I decided that was unrealistic for today (hmmm...)...Moving on; Casual sex and promiscuity are the norm; so much so that being with one partner for too long was frowned upon. Marriage is no more. For entertainment, everyone piles up in the "theater" to watch movies laden with sex and love affairs (oh, nothing like what's playing at the Hollywood 20 today I'm sure....), and when you're upset, uncomfortable, no need to feel your emotional discomfort, or try to deal with it or work through it...take a pill. A pill to solve all of life's problems. To cure what ails you. We dont do that today either...do we? Also in the book, children are desensitized to death at a young age by being taken to hospitals to watch people die. In reality, we today would never do that...especially when we just have to turn on the TV...get the job done without leaving the house, you know what I mean? There are so many different aspects of the book, I'm sure I would be able to address them all, but a few more worthy of mention; everything available at the touch of a button, media relishing in other people's misfortune, individuals at the "top" controlling the flow of information to the public, instant gratification...this book is just sooooo outlandish, soooooo far fetched, I have deemed it a must-read.