Aldous Huxley. The name itself evokes psychedelic visions and utopian nightmares in the Western psyche. He was born on July 26, 1894 and died on November 22, 1963. He saw the end of the century, two world wars, the decline of the British Lion, the rise of the American Eagle and the Cuban Missile Crisis. . In short, it has lived through some of the most volatile times humans have ever seen as a species. His work was varied. He began his career as a satirist of the class system he endured in England. He continued his work, writing one of the world's most famous satirical pieces, Brave New World, in 1932. By targeting the totalitarian ideologies that had been the product of the industrialization of some of the most autocratic parts of the world, he improved the most extreme portions of these systems and reduced any moderating factors in such systems. Critical response to the novel has been mixed. It remains a controversial book due to its discussion of sexuality, hallucinogenic drug use, and industrial totalitarianism. English teachers have been fired for assigning it, and countries have banned it. Yet his message was only carried forward by controversy. Huxley's later works can be glimpsed in his treatment of hallucinogenic drugs and his discussion of God. After Brave New World, Huxley's focus shifted towards the mystical, with the publication of The Perennial Philosophy in 1945. He also indulged the his lifelong interest in psychedelics. He first tried mescaline in 1953 and LSD-25 in 1955. He wrote two important books on the subject Door of Perception and Heaven and Hell. He was also fascinated by the theme of death and dying in the last decade of his life. He led his first wife through a hypnosis session taking... middle of paper... appears to be read as a manifesto for a better alternative to democracy than fascism or communism. The government of the “World State” in the work is reminiscent of Italy or the USSR of the time. Gender roles seem like an exaggeration of events that were transforming the roles of women at the time. Drugs and the lack of religion reflect the omnipotent role of the government maintained through sensationalism. For these reasons, Brave New World is primarily a satirical work, linking Huxley's early and late works. Understanding this text is critical to understanding totalitarianism, women's liberation, and substance use in the 20th century. Huxley glimpsed the 1940s and 1960s in this work, in other words Huxley predicted an unpredictable century. Works CitedHuxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print.