Freedom of Speech

February 2, 2015
Less a sharp blade than a sticky, tangled web is the image conveyed by this nuanced survey of American free-speech controversies. Pulitzer Prizeâwinning journalist Shipler (âRights at Risk') investigates recent showdowns related to the issue: parents trying to ban novels with sex scenes from high school English classes, the government prosecuting whistle-blowers for speaking up about government surveillance abuses, preachers resisting IRS rules against electioneering from the pulpit, a Jewish theater fighting to retain funding for a play about a possible Israeli atrocity against Palestinians. These aren't all stories of heroic freedom fighters; while Shipler calls himself a near absolutist when it comes to the First Amendment, he allows that much embattled speech is ugly, hateful, or just plain stupid, and his sympathetic reportage recognizes concerns on all sides (sometimes to excess: he tends to let his subjects' rambling speechifying about speech go on for far too long). Shipler wants to show that, even in polarized contexts, an abundance of speech usually prods people a few steps closer to mutual comprehension. In the wake of the âCharlie Hebdo' massacre, his probing exploration of quieter confrontations reminds us how America's robust free-speech culture encourages citizens to talk, rather than shoot, issues out. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM.

April 1, 2015

Former New York Times reporter Shipler (The Rights of the People; The Working Poor) has written a book about the difficulties of freedom of speech in practice. Each chapter examines the ways society places limits on free speech. The author argues that the practice is restrained by culture, as in Part 1, in which he discusses several instances of censorship in classrooms and school libraries across the country. Throughout the rest of the book, he investigates the issues that complicate free speech, such as national security, race, class, and party politics. Shipler's examination of poverty as a barrier to free speech--a subject that is not often discussed--is the most exciting section. Using the controversy surrounding the Affordable Healthcare Act, the author details how low-income populations are excluded from the lawmaking process by their lack of access and influence. VERDICT This book addresses a timely subject and is written by someone with a deep interest in the controversies and difficulties surrounding freedom of speech. Recommended for large public libraries, academic libraries, law schools and law students, political science students, and informed lay readers.--Becky Kennedy, Atlanta-Fulton P.L.

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