In a sometimes confused, sometimes admirable polemic, Hentoff (John Cardinal O'Connor, 1988, etc.) argues against restraints on free expression in a wide variety of contemporary contexts. Hentoff does not limit his discussion to legal cases arising under the First Amendment, which prohibits only government interference with free expression. Instead, he tries broadly to illustrate "Americans' unbounded hypocrisy concerning free speech." Thus, he sees, and deplores, censorship whenever an individual or private organization dislikes speech enough to express a desire for its suppression. For instance, Hentoff finds insidious censorship in an incident in which parents disliked a book (Huckleberry Finn) enough to try to remove it from a high-school reading list, and in another case in which a high school sought to compel a student to read an assigned book that the student found offensive. One might argue that the first case raises a literary question rather than a free-speech issue, and that the second case does not involve suppression of speech but, rather, the right of a school to set its own curriculum. Also, Hentoff sometimes fails to acknowledge that freedom of speech can include the right to express a desire to suppress others' free speech (e.g., he condemns the movement to boycott orange juice for the purpose of expressing opposition to Anita Bryant's antihomosexual campaign as being "in contempt of [her] right of free expression"). Nonetheless, Hentoff identifies many genuine threats to free expression—e.g., the use of federal lawsuits to stop demonstrations, and a broad "antipornography" statute that would allow people to enjoin the display of works of art or literature they found offensive—and he nicely points out, through many examples, that the desire to suppress free speech is universal and without political affiliation. Hentoff's sentiments are laudable, and he astutely analyzes the hypocrisy of the left and the right about free-speech issues. Nonetheless, those seeking a clear and consistent analysis of the meaning of free speech will be disappointed.
Pub Date: Oct. 21, 1992
ISBN: 0-06-019006-X
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1992
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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