Book description
The often-violent conflicts of the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries were sparked by the pursuit of freedom of thought. In time,
this drive led to bitter fighting, including the English Civil War.
Then came revolutions in America and France that swept away monarchies
for more representative forms of government and making possible the
abolition of slavery, the enfranchisement of women, and the idea of
universal human rights and freedoms. Each of these struggles was a
memorable human drama, and Grayling interweaves the stories of these
heroes, including Martin Luther, Mary Wollstonecraft and Rosa Parks,
whose sacrifices make us value these precious rights, especially in an
age when governments under pressure find it necessary to restrict
rights in the name of freedom.
 Grayling charts the progress of liberty from its modern roots in
the Reformation through the end of absolute monarchy to contemporary
conventions on human rights, pointing out every bloodstain on the way'
A. C. Grayling is Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College,
University of London, and a multi-talented author. He believes that
philosophy should take an active, useful role in society. He has been
a regular contributor to The Times, Financial Times,
Observer, Independent on Sunday, Economist,
Literary Review, New Statesman and Prospect,
and is a frequent and popular contributor to radio and television
programmes, including Newsnight, Today, In Our
Time, Start the Week and CNN news. He is a Fellow of the
World Economic Forum at Davos, and advises on many committees ranging
from Drug Testing at Work to human rights groups.
