A fifth grader, assigned to read "Animal Farm" years ago, was asked by his teacher what he thought it was "about."

"The American revolution," replied the 11-year-old promptly.

"No, no, no." The teacher was horrified. It's about the Russian revolution, he insisted. Rightly, of course.

Or was he so right?

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"It's really a satire on much broader issues," said John Rodden, author of "Becoming George Orwell: Life and Letters, Legend and Legacy," and an acknowledged authority on a much-admired author that everyone — liberal and conservative — wants a piece of. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Like the even more celebrated "Nineteen Eighty-Four"(1949), Orwell's "Animal Farm" — marking its 80th anniversary this month — is a political broadside.

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