Animal Farm by George Orwell

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What a powerful fable of how a manifesto written by the animals for the animals goes awry.  Just under 100 pages, Orwell blasts us with a vision of how egalitarian values can slowly slip away, if there is no ability to read, write, or remember on the part of the collective.  Slowly, the pigs take over and rule. Then one pig, aptly named Napolean, performs a coup d’etat, ousting the other pig, Snowball, turning him into the arch enemy of the farm. Napolean leads autocratically, fueled by greed. And slowly, the animals who had built their own government collectively begin to be dominated by Naploean, who little by little alters their manifesto, with very little notice or resistance.  A classic and a must-read for everyone who cares about equality and democracy and free thinking.