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Free Speech for Me--But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other Hardcover – January 1, 1992

by Nat Hentoff (Author)

4.8 31 ratings

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A state-of-the-constitution analysis of free speech today laments assaults on this fundamental privilege by the left and the right and passionately reaffirms the right of free expression. By the author of The New Equality. Tour.

Print length

405 pages
Language

English
Publisher

HarperCollins
Publication date

January 1, 1992
Dimensions

1.33 x 6.48 x 9.51 inches
ISBN-10

006019006X
ISBN-13

978-0060190064
See all details

Nat Hentoff
24
Paperback
29 offers from $2.38

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.

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.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins; First Edition (January 1, 1992)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 405 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 006019006X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060190064
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.65 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1.33 x 6.48 x 9.51 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,763,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,275 in Censorship & Politics
- #27,261 in Law (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.8 31 ratings

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Dr. Lillian Wallace

From the 1990s, but still utterly relevant today

Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2022

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Free speech is a tricky subject especially in the age of social media. We may disagree with others, but trying to cancel them, or threaten them with hate and anger, or drown them out via intimidation, is a failing strategy. We can disagree, and persuade via thoughtful examples and actions. What else is there? This book is a clear reminder that book banning, cancelling others and their ideas, and hating via angry words leads to a lose-lose proposition. Nat Hentoff shows why throwing the baby out with the bathwater is far too frequent in trying to control others. We cannot have 'free speech for me, but not for thee" on either the left or the right.

One person found this helpful

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TJF

Current Day People Need the Lessons from this Old Classic

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2023

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The times are new, but the lessons are old.

One person found this helpful

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warlord

The Precarious State of Free Speech

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2013

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I had been reading Nat Hentoff's column on civil liberties in the Village Voice for years. He had a talent for examining situations and noting ramifications that most people ignored or never thought of. One might assume that Mr. Hentoff is a liberal. I believe he is not; he is a civil libertarian. There is a difference, and reading his works will show why. He condemns the hypocrisies of liberals as well as conservatives. He discusses the dangers of political correctness, and exposes the lack of free thinking in our colleges and universities. This is an important work, and everyone should read it.

10 people found this helpful

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D. M. Davis

Nat Hentoff defends the 1st Amendment, yet again.

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2018

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An older book. It shows how some on the left and right want to limit free speech. Nat Hentoff was one of the biggest defenders of free speech and this book didn’t pull any punches.

5 people found this helpful

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Collin

Meh

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2021

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It just felt like a dude raging about feminism in 2014. Didn't finish it but that what it felt like

One person found this helpful

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Deborah Khora

Obscenity is not protected speech.

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2014

Verified Purchase

Excellent book. Almost a convert to porn as a form of free speech. However, Obscenity does NOT fall under the category of free and protected speech, and can, indeed, be censored. This is the greater feminist issue.

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Jason

Exactly what I wanted

Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2018

Good product

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2017