Add to wishlist
In Towards the Light, A.C. Grayling tells the story of the long and difficult battle for freedom in the West, from the Reformation to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, from the battle for the vote to the struggle for the right to freedom of conscience. As Grayling passionately affirms, it is a story - and a struggle - that continues to this day as those in power use the threat of terrorism in the 21st century to roll-back the liberties that so many have fought and died to win for us. Including an appendix of landmark documents, including the British and American Bills of Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the Bloomsbury Revelations edition also includes a new preface by the author reflecting on developments since the book's original publication.
Preface to the Bloomsbury Revelations Edition
Acknowledgements
1. Setting the Scene
Part I: The Demand for Liberty
2. The Reformation and the Beginning of Modern Liberty
3. Freeing the Mind
4. The Fight Against Absolutism
Part II: The Extension of Liberty
5. Slaves, Workers, Women and the Struggle for Liberty
6. The Liberty Century
7. Rights Out of Wrongs
8. The Idea of Liberty and the Verge of Betrayal Postscript
Appendices: Landmarks on the Road to Freedom
1. The Bill of Rights, 1689
2. The US Bill of Rights, 1791
3. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
4. The Chartists' 'Six Points' and Petition
5. United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Description
In Towards the Light, A.C. Grayling tells the story of the long and difficult battle for freedom in the West, from the Reformation to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, from the battle for the vote to the struggle for the right to freedom of conscience. As Grayling passionately affirms, it is a story - and a struggle - that continues to this day as those in power use the threat of terrorism in the 21st century to roll-back the liberties that so many have fought and died to win for us. Including an appendix of landmark documents, including the British and American Bills of Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the Bloomsbury Revelations edition also includes a new preface by the author reflecting on developments since the book's original publication.