Nineteen Eighty-Four (or 1984) is an English dystopian novel by George Orwell, written in 1948 and published in 1949. It is the story of the life of the intellectual Winston Smith, his job in the Ministry of Truth, and his degradation by the totalitarian government of Oceania, the country in which he lives. It has been translated into sixty-two languages, and has deeply impressed itself in the English language. Nineteen Eighty-Four, its terms and language, and its author are bywords in discussions of personal privacy and state security. The adjective "Orwellian" describes actions and organizations characteristic of Oceania, the totalitarian society depicted in the novel, and the phrase "Big Brother is watching you" refers to invasive surveillance.In turn, Nineteen Eighty-Four has been seen as subversive and politically dangerous and thus been banned by libraries in many countries. Along with Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, and Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, it is among the most famous dystopias in literature. In 2005, Time magazine selected it as one of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923.