Dangerous Ideas

A Brief History of Censorship in the West, from the Ancients to Fake News

By: Eric Berkowitz

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Hardcover | 6 May 2021

At a Glance

Hardcover
352 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.4 x 15.6 x 30.0

Hardcover

$44.75

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The urge to censor is as old as the urge to speak. From the first Chinese emperor's wholesale elimination of books to the Vatican's suppression of pornography from its own collection, and on to the attack on Charlie Hebdo and the advent of Internet troll armies, words, images and ideas have always been hunted down by those trying to suppress them.

In this compelling account, Eric Berkowitz reveals why and how humanity has, from the beginning, sought to silence itself. Ranging from the absurd - such as Henry VIII's decree of death for anyone who 'imagined' his demise - to claims by American slave owners that abolitionist literature should be supressed because it hurt their feelings, Berkowitz takes the reader on an unruly ride through history, highlighting the use of censorship to reinforce class, race and gender privilege and guard against offence.

Elucidating phrases like 'fake news' and 'hate speech', Dangerous Ideas exposes the dangers of erasing history, how censorship has shaped our modern society and what forms it is taking today - and to what disturbing effects.

Industry Reviews

Dangerous Ideas] always manages to surprise, especially with a lively flow of villains ... [Berkowitz] is singularly focused on those heroes and heroines who refused to submit to the dictates and biases of their time. The fact that their works are still with us today hammers home the central thesis of Dangerous Ideas: censorship is ultimately futile and cannot permanently extinguish the thirst for freedom of expression. Berkowitz has assembled a stirring cast to demonstrate this.'Ariel Dorfman, NYRB; 'Free speech good! Censorship bad! Undeniable. Indisputable. Except that Eric Berkowitz denies and disputes with such intellectual agility as to induce cramping of the brain. Vivid, violent historical examples buttressing the case against censorship, while we citizens of the internet find ourselves drowning in crud for want of it. The point is you'll enjoy the ride, and the argument has never been more pressing.' Ted Koppel

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