Items related to You Can’t Read This Book: Censorship in an Age...

You Can’t Read This Book: Censorship in an Age of Freedom - Softcover

 
9780007308903: You Can’t Read This Book: Censorship in an Age of Freedom
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 

Winner of Polemic of the Year at the 2013 Political Book Awards.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of Communism, and the advent of the Web which allowed for even the smallest voice to be heard, everywhere you turned you were told that we were living in an age of unparalleled freedom.
You Can't Read This Book argues that this view is dangerously naive. From the revolution in Iran that wasn't, to the Great Firewall of China and the imposition of super-injunctions from the filthy rich protecting their privacy, the traditional opponents of freedom of speech - religious fanaticism, plutocratic power and dictatorial states - are thriving, and in many respects finding the world a more comfortable place in the early 21st century than they did in the late 20th.

This is not an account of interesting but trivial disputes about freedom of speech: the rights and wrongs of shouting 'fire' in a crowded theatre, of playing heavy metal at 3 am in a built-up area or articulating extremist ideas in a school or university. Rather, this is a story that starts with the cataclysmic reaction of the Left and Right to the publication and denunciation of the Satanic Verses in 1988 that saw them jump into bed with radical extremists. It ends at the juncture where even in the transgressive, liberated West, where so much blood had been spilt for Freedom, where rebellion is the conformist style and playing the dissenter the smart career move in the arts and media, you can write a book and end up destroyed or dead.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

‘Cohen is perhaps the most insightful, thought-provoking and entertaining political writer in Britain today, and comes from the honest tradition of English liberal thought that threads from John Milton to John Stuart Mill and George Orwell’ Telegraph, Ed West

‘Nick Cohen’s books are like the best Smiths songs; however depressing the content, the execution is so shimmering, so incandescent with indignation that the overall effect is transcendently uplifting’ Julie Burchill, Prospect

‘It is useful to have all this material in one place, particularly for the benefit of young people, who must be taught about previous disputes over free expression’ Hanif Kureishi, Independent

‘You can read this book, and you probably should’ Hugo Rifkind, The Spectator

‘Into the space vacated by the controversialist Christopher Hitchens we might recruit the sardonic, sceptical columnist Nick Cohen’ Iain Finlayson, The Times

‘Nick Cohen’s new book is a corrective to the tendency of internet utopians to think that the web has ushered in an “age of transparency” New Statesman

‘Writing with passion, wit and erudition, Cohen draws upon the spirit of Orwell and Milton in his call for a fightback against the onslaught on free speech’ Metro, 4 stars

‘You Can’t Read This Book. You can, OF COURSE. And you should. Cohen is right about everything that matters.’ Standpoint, Anthony Julius

About the Author:

Nick Cohen is a journalist and commentator for the Observer and Evening Standard. He is also the author of ‘What’s Left’? – the most important and provocative commentaries on how the Left lost its way.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherFourth Estate
  • Publication date2012
  • ISBN 10 0007308906
  • ISBN 13 9780007308903
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages330
  • Rating
Buy Used
Condition: Very Good
The book has been read, but is... Learn more about this copy

Shipping: £ 4.80
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Destination, rates & speeds

Add to Basket

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780007518500: You Can't Read This Book: Censorship in an Age of Freedom

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780007518500
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2013
Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Cohen, Nick
Published by Fourth Estate (2012)
ISBN 10: 0007308906 ISBN 13: 9780007308903
Used Paperback Quantity: 4
Seller:
WorldofBooks
(Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR004017107

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
£ 0.79
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 4.80
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Nick Cohen
Published by Fourth Estate 19/01/2012 (2012)
ISBN 10: 0007308906 ISBN 13: 9780007308903
Used Softcover Quantity: 2
Seller:
AwesomeBooks
(Wallingford, United Kingdom)

Book Description Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. . Seller Inventory # 7719-9780007308903

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
£ 3.47
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 4.49
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cohen, Nick
Published by Fourth Estate (2012)
ISBN 10: 0007308906 ISBN 13: 9780007308903
Used Paperback Quantity: 2
Seller:
Reuseabook
(Gloucester, GLOS, United Kingdom)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Used; Good. Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Please expect some creasing to the spine and/or minor damage to the cover. Seller Inventory # CHL2793692

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
£ 1.95
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 7.37
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cohen, Nick
Published by Fourth Estate (2012)
ISBN 10: 0007308906 ISBN 13: 9780007308903
Used Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
SecondSale
(Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: Good. Good condition ex-library book with usual library markings and stickers. Seller Inventory # 00022266657

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
£ 9.47
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Nick Cohen
Published by Fourth Estate (2012)
ISBN 10: 0007308906 ISBN 13: 9780007308903
Used Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Ergodebooks
(Houston, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # SONG0007308906

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
£ 9.55
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Nick Cohen
Published by Fourth Estate 19/01/2012 (2012)
ISBN 10: 0007308906 ISBN 13: 9780007308903
Used Softcover Quantity: 2
Seller:
Bahamut Media
(Reading, United Kingdom)

Book Description Condition: Very Good. Shipped within 24 hours from our UK warehouse. Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover. Spine still tight, in very good condition. Remember if you are not happy, you are covered by our 100% money back guarantee. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780007308903

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
£ 3.47
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 6.98
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Nick Cohen
Published by Fourth Estate (2012)
ISBN 10: 0007308906 ISBN 13: 9780007308903
Used Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
medimops
(Berlin, Germany)

Book Description Befriedigend/Good: Durchschnittlich erhaltenes Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit Gebrauchsspuren, aber vollständigen Seiten. / Describes the average WORN book or dust jacket that has all the pages present. Seller Inventory # M00007308906-G

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
£ 3.17
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 7.71
From Germany to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cohen, Nick
ISBN 10: 0007308906 ISBN 13: 9780007308903
Used Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Better World Books Ltd
(Dunfermline, United Kingdom)

Book Description Condition: Good. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP63830333

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
£ 4.61
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 8
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cohen, Nick
Published by Fourth Estate (2012)
ISBN 10: 0007308906 ISBN 13: 9780007308903
Used Soft cover First Edition Quantity: 1
Seller:
Atlantic Northwest
(Tighnabruaich, United Kingdom)

Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Seller Inventory # ABE-1711479375014

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
£ 1
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 12
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cohen, Nick
Published by Fourth Estate (2012)
ISBN 10: 0007308906 ISBN 13: 9780007308903
Used Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Irish Booksellers
(Portland, ME, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 7-0007308906-G

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy Used
£ 13.04
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

There are more copies of this book

View all search results for this book