Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media

“The best history of free speech ever written and the best defense of free speech ever made.”—P. J. O’Rourke

Hailed as the “first freedom,” free speech is the bedrock of democracy. But it is a challenging principle, subject to erosion in times of upheaval. Today, in democracies and authoritarian states around the world, we are experiencing a free speech recession.

In Free Speech, Jacob Mchangama traces the riveting legal, political, and cultural history of this idea. Through captivating ...