I've read 'Darkness at noon'[1] at year ago or two. It's one of the books Orwell was heavily influenced by. It's about Stalin's Russia and it's amazing. Same topic, total gov control.
Well yeah, wikipedia says 1949 but 6 months up or down doesn't change much..
About DaN[1]: 'In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Darkness at Noon at number eight on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.'
Although the depth of thought and analysis of the 'soviet regime' was impressive, I had no idea it was that highly praised novel.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkness_at_Noon