DONE - What Is Free Speech?: The History of a Dangerous Idea

Dabhoiwala, Fara. What Is Free Speech?: The History of a Dangerous Idea. 2025. 480p. ISBN 9780241347478.

The meaning of "free speech" is a highly contested topic across the globe. While it is celebrated as a core value in Western nations, there is significant internal disagreement about its scope and limitations. In contrast, many other cultures, including those in China, India, and the Islamic world, often suppress unorthodox views on politics, religion, and sex. This global discord is complicated by evolving power imbalances, cultural taboos, rapid technological advancements, and a fast-changing media landscape, making the origin and purpose of free speech critical questions.

Modern ideas of free expression did not emerge as an absolute principle, but were invented in Britain around 1700. The history of this concept is a complex story shaped by the lives of countless individuals over 300 years, from slaves and imperialists to poets and revolutionaries, across Europe, North America, and South Asia. By examining this intricate history, What is Free Speech? leads to better understand our contemporary challenges and move beyond simple platitudes, allowing for a deeper consideration of free speech as a global issue and suggesting fresh possibilities for its future.

Rook

Cameron, Sharon. Rook. 2015. 464p. ISBN 9780545675994.

When solar flares destroyed the technology that humans relied on for life, work, and entertainment, the world was once again plunged in the Dark Ages. Over eight hundred years have passed since plastics and electronics were in common usage. Humans adapted to this pre-modern lifestyle. In the Sunken City once called Paris, a new government opposed to technology such as the printing press has taken over. The minister of security, Leblanc, is a devotee of Faith, and leaves many of his most important decisions to randomness. The government has arrested and imprisoned hundreds of people in the infamous Sunken City prison.

Sophia Bellamy is ready to go through an arranged marriage to save the fortunes of her family. Her father dilapidated their earnings, and her brother just suffered an accident that threatens his livelihood. It is up to Sophia to get a dowry that will cover the family's expenses and allow them to retain control of their estate. Her marriage to René Hasard, from the Sunken City, will provide enough funds, but he is conceited and, aside from being beautiful, doesn't really bring much to the table intellectually. Sophia also has a secret she needs to hide. She's the infamous Red Rook, the person who has infiltrated the prison of the Sunken City and rescued countless individuals who were condemned to death by the guillotine, leaving behind nothing but a red feather. And René is cousin to Leblanc. Could he be an agent sent to rout her out?

Engaged in a dangerous game of cat and mouse, Sophia must plan to rescue her brother from Leblanc's clutches while discovering what René's endgame is without falling completely in love with him. She's about to be real busy!

Inspired by the Scarlet Pimpernel and the French Revolution, Rook explores issues of social violence and moral dilemmas. Both characters have secrets they are trying to hide, and though it is rather long, the story is a good allegory of the times that followed the collapse of the French monarchy in the 1780s. 

A Tale of Two Cities

Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. 2004. 470p. ISBN 0-7434-8760-5. Available at FIC DIC on the library shelves as well as an audiobook from Overdrive.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Thus begins Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities, a story about the French Revolution and the impact it had on the world, as well as on two different families. The story begins in 1775, as Jarvis Lorry, one of the managers of Tellson’s Bank in London, is heading to Paris to collect a prisoner whom was secretly imprisoned in the Bastille, in Paris. That prisoner, Alexandre Manette, was a doctor who witnessed a horrific crime and was put away before he could share what he saw. His daughter, Lucie, always believed her father had perished, but when she is reunited with him she is relieved beyond belief.

Five years later, a French immigrant in London, Charles Darnay, is accused by the British Crown to provide material support to the American cause, as the Revolutionary War is in full swing. The prosecutor relies heavily on testimony from two men who find themselves discredited by Darnay’s lawyers, and Darnay is acquitted. In contact with Jarvis Lorry, Darnay meets Lucie Manette, and soon the two of them are wed.

France, meanwhile, undergoes its own bloody revolution. The Lafarge are revolutionaries who are connected to incidents involving Doctor Manette and which led ultimately to his imprisonment. Through circumstances, Darnay is tricked into returning to France, where he is arrested and put up in front of a revolutionary tribunal. He is saved by Doctor Manette’s impassionate speech, built on the strength of his imprisonment in the Bastille, but Darnay is soon arrested again. Assisted by his London lawyer, Darnay manages to escape Paris with his family and returns to London.

A condemnation of the terrors that follow revolutionary zeal, A Tale of Two Cities continue to be relevant in today’s fractured and violent world.