Dangerous Ideas: A Brief History of Censorship in the West, from the Ancients to Fake News (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780807036242)

A fascinating examination of how restricting speech has continuously shaped our culture, and how censorship is used as a tool to prop up authorities and maintain class and gender disparities

Through compelling narrative, historian Eric Berkowitz reveals how drastically censorship has shaped our modern society. More than just a history of censorship, Dangerous Ideas illuminates the power of restricting speech; how it has defined states, ideas, and culture; and (despite how each of us would like to believe otherwise) how it is something we all participate in.

This engaging cultural history of censorship and thought suppression throughout the ages takes readers from the first Chinese emperor's wholesale elimination of books, to Henry VIII's decree of death for anyone who "imagined" his demise, and on to the attack on Charlie Hebdo and the volatile politics surrounding censorship of social media.

Highlighting the base impulses driving many famous acts of suppression, Berkowitz demonstrates the fragility of power and how every individual can act as both the suppressor and the suppressed.

Author: Eric Berkowitz
ISBN-10: 0807036242
ISBN-13: 9780807036242
Publisher: Beacon Press
Language: English
Published: 05/04/2021
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.30d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/15/2021
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2021