<p>In a dateless future, a seemingly benevolent totalitarian State has eliminated poverty, crime, war, and religious intolerance and brought the happiness of conformity to its people. Professor Burden thinks he too is a loyal citizen, but the Department of Internal Examination discovers that he secretly values his individuality. Believing Burden to be a threat to the continued existence of the State, an examiner named Lark decides to cure him of his heresy and return him to being a normal, productive member of society&mdash;by persuasion if possible, but by complete obliteration of his identity if necessary.&nbsp;</p><p>First published in 1953, <em>One </em>earned critical comparisons to the great dystopian novels of Orwell and Huxley. It is both a gripping psychological thriller and an indictment of totalitarianism which, as Philip Boakes argues in the new introduction to this edition, is more relevant than ever.</p><p>&ldquo;The publishers have bracketed this novel with<em> Darkness at Noon</em>, <em>Nineteen Eighty-Four </em>and <em>Brave New World</em>, which I at first thought presumptuous; but now, after reading it, I am inclined to agree.&rdquo; -&nbsp;Cyril Connolly, <em>The Sunday Times</em></p><p>&ldquo;[P]erhaps even more terrifying [than Orwell&rsquo;s <em>1984</em>].&rdquo; -&nbsp;<em>Saturday Review</em></p><p>&ldquo;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.&rdquo; -&nbsp;<em>The New York Times</em></p>