Free Speech for Me--But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other [Paperback]

Nat Hentoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1993

Hentoff's timely, fact-filled, and illuminating book describes the current assault on free speech from all points of the political spectrum--even from the traditionally liberal groups now intent on repressing opinions thought "politically incorrect."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hentoff's guiding principle in this casebook is that the First Amendment's protection of free speech must be given to all, even to those whose views are repugnant. It is not only right-wingers who have censored free expression, he argues, but anti-porn feminists, blacks who attempt to ban Huckleberry Finn from schools (because the novel includes the word nigger), gays who supported a blacklisting of Anita Bryant, and other enforcers of political correctness. Hentoff, a syndicated columnist and Village Voice regular, endorses American Nazis' right to march in Skokie, Ill., in 1977, arguing that hatred should be brought into the open and confronted with the truth. He supports flag-burners' First Amendment rights and opposes anti-bigotry speech codes on campuses, maintaining that politically correct" students and professors have stifled debate. He also criticizes the harsh limitations imposed on picketing anti-abortion groups. Hentoff's fierce consistency in this libertarian manifesto will draw the wrath of critics. Author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Some years ago, Clark Kerr, then president of the University of California, said: "The purpose of a university is to make students safe for ideas--not ideas safe for students." More recently, "thought police" operating on all levels of education and from all parts of the political spectrum have taken the opposite tack. In a thoughtful analysis of free expression, Hentoff indicts those from the right and the left who would suppress the rights of individuals to voice opposing viewpoints. He deals with traditional censors--religious fundamentalists and political right-wingers--but does not neglect the new ones, e.g., feminists who tried to prevent a pro-life women's group from participating in Yale University's Women's Center. He also takes on proponents of "hate speech" regulations as enemies of free expression. Long recognized as a crusading First Amendment purist, Hentoff has written extensively on the subject in newspaper and magazine columns and in such books as The First Freedom (Delacorte, 1988) and a YA novel, The Day They Came To Arrest the Book (Delacorte, 1982. o.p.). His new book belongs in all libraries.
- Sue Kimm, Inglewood P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Perennial (August 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060995106
• ISBN-13: 978-0060995102
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,069,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book--very objective, May 20, 2001

By 

"jeffersonfan" (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Free Speech for Me--But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other (Hardcover)

Hentoff deals with the subject of free speech in the most objective manner I've seen. As a writer for the Village Voice, he could not be accused of being a right-winger, so criticism of the hypocrisy of the left is very credible. I've always thought it ironic that the left portrays itself as having a lock on being open-minded, yet it is all too happy to restrict speech that presents a contrary point of view.

Hentoff gives many examples, including some of his own, where both sides of the political spectrum attempt to censor the speech of the other. He discusses everything from efforts on college campuses to prevent non politically correct subjects from being discussed to censorship he faced while writing his columns.

Great book for people to read on both sides of the political spectrum. Perhaps it could move more people on both sides to actually listen to opposing points of view rather than trying to prevent the discussion. We have to understand that the 1st Amendment was not designed to protect speech we agree with--their would be no need for such protection. Being offended is really not a constitutional reason to preclude speech (in my view as well as Hentoff's).

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hentoff seeks the truth, February 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Free Speech for Me--But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other (Paperback)

Though the Left has now turned against Hentoff for his politically incorrect views on Bill Clinton, he is far from being some cranky right-winger. In this book, he holds up free speech as an ideal that few people really uphold. He especially criticizes "civil libertarians" who use the First Amendment as protection of things they like and then ignore it when trying to ban what they hate (racist writing, sexual harassment, etc.). Rather than set up left-wing straw men to knock down, Hentoff details stories of how the left censors, while acknowledging that the Right censors as well. But since conservatives admit their intentions they are not as dangerous as the duplicitous people on the Left. Hentoff seeks truth in everything, and this book is his finest.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on the subject of Free Speech, August 12, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Charlotte, NC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Free Speech for Me--But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other (Hardcover)

Hentoff's dogged persistance to the First Amendment comes through again and again in this work. He does not care about the topic, he does not care about who wants a word censored, he only cares that the Constitution protects Free Speeach and he will, too. I came aupon this title, and searched for it. Upon finding it, I swallowed the book whole. I became alternately enraged and amused at the attempts of some to limit the expression of others, and their reasons for doing so. Hentoff's work should be required reading for all students, and naturalized citizens; he brings the First Amendment to life through powerful stories adn facts