Civil Liberties

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-A timely look at freedom of expression as covered in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The attacks of 9/11 led to the swift passage of the Patriot Act and supporters and critics have continued to debate whether our rights have been curtailed since that time. This volume examines the pros and cons of such issues as regulation of hate speech, flag burning, banning of child pornography, posting of the Ten Commandments in public places, public surveillance cameras, the war on terrorism, and ethnic profiling. Twenty-two essays from contributors ranging from the ACLU to John Ashcroft and from such publications as the Humanist, the Seattle Times, and Midstream offer arguments from a variety of perspectives. The topics as well as the individual excerpts are clearly introduced, and each chapter ends with a bibliography of periodical articles that supplement the viewpoints presented. Questions for further discussion and a list of organizations round out the volume. This highly accessible book will prove useful for opinion and research papers.-Janet Woodward, Garfield High School, Seattle, WA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.