(p. 10) The author, most recently, of “The Escape” was a library rat growing up: “Libraries are the mainstays of democracy. The first thing dictators do when taking over a country is close all the libraries, because libraries are full of ideas.”
. . .
What’s the one book you wish someone else would write?
A sequel to “1984” where Winston Smith regains his senses and his independence and actually triumphs over Big Brother. Right now we could all use a little more hope about the world.
For the full interview, see:
“By the Book: David Baldacci.” The New York Times Book Review (Sun., NOV. 30, 2014): 10.
(Note: italics, and bold, in original; ellipsis added.)
(Note: the online version of the interview has the date NOV. 26, 2014, and has the title “David Baldacci: By the Book.” The name of the interviewer, presumably the author of the italicized passage above, is not given in either the online or print versions.)
The book for which Balducci wishes a sequel is:
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. New York: The New American Library, 1961 [1949].