Free Speech

A History from Socrates to Social Media

By: Jacob Mchangama

Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi

A global history of free speech, from the ancient world to today

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, it is on the retreat.

In Free Speech, Jacob Mchangama traces the riveting legal, political, and cultural history of this idea. Through captivating stories of free speech’s many defenders - from the ancient Athenian orator Demosthenes and the ninth-century freethinker al-Rāzī, to the anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells and modern-day digital activists - Mchangama reveals how the free exchange of ideas underlies all intellectual achievement and has enabled the advancement of both freedom and equality worldwide. Yet the desire to restrict speech, too, is a constant, and he explores how even its champions can be led down this path when the rise of new and contrarian voices challenge power and privilege of all stripes.

Meticulously researched and deeply humane, Free Speech demonstrates how much we have gained from this principle - and how much we stand to lose without it.

©2022 Jacob Mchangama (P)2022 Basic Books

Critic reviews

“The best history of free speech ever written and the best defense of free speech ever made. Jacob Mchangama never loses sight of the trouble freedom causes but always keeps in mind that lack of freedom creates horrors.” (P.J. O’Rourke)

“Freedom of speech has emerged as a major issue of this decade, but most of the discussion consists of outrages over speech or the repression of speech. Missing is the intellectual background: What does free speech really mean? What is its history? How has it played out in world events? Why should we defend it? Jacob Mchangama lays out this context with deep erudition, strong writing, and a light touch.” (Steven Pinker, Johnstone professor of psychology, Harvard University, and the author of Enlightenment Now and Rationality)

“Jacob Mchangama’s history of the world's strangest, best idea is the definitive account we have been waiting for. It teems with valuable insights, lively characters, and the author's passion for the cause he has done so much to advance. Mchangama brings to life the ancient struggles which established free speech and also the modern dangers which embattle it. Free Speech is that rare book which will impress scholars as much as it entertains readers, all while telling the world's most improbable success story.” (Jonathan Rauch, author of The Constitution of Knowledge)

A reaffirmation of a key fundamental right

The author does a fantastic job at documenting the conception and application of a right to free speech from Athenian democracy to the 21st century.

The first two thirds of the book are an informative history of the philosophical, legal, and practical contexts for speech in Ancient Greece, Rome, medieval and modern Europe and the Middle East, and the American colonies/United States. It brings detail to the evolution of free speech and the press in the West in particular.

If you follow international news on democratic backsliding, most of the last few chapters of the book won't give you that much new information. Those are nonetheless a vivid and chilling reminder of the threats free speech faces today in the developed and developing world alike, and why we should not let barriers to speech be raised.

very informative

This was a good review of free speech. I enjoyed listening to the history of free speech. it wasn't as dry as one might think

Great historical perspective.

It is amazing to understand the ebb and flow of free speech from the Athenians to today. THE fundamental principle of freedom is explained historically.

Great book - boring narration

Loved the book, but I really wish Jacob had narrated it for us. The narrator is clear and understandable. My only issue was that his narration as a bit monotone and slow. I listened at 1.4x just to stay awake.

Timely and Vital

This book is a well researched and fairly comprehensive account of the history and value of free-speech. It warns us that this right can and often is eroded in the name of both authoritarianism and tolerance. If you are thin skinned in your ideology on either the left or right, this book will tweak you. I highly recommend it.

Great review of free speech and history

Enjoyed the overall look at free speech, free press, and how these freedoms were viewed over time in different cultures. I felt it was a little left leaning, and the details were difficult to remember for an audiobook. I had to rewind and re-listen a few times. Maybe that’s just me.

Sensational book, problematic reading

Mchangama’s book is everything I had hoped for and more. It lays out the history of free speech elegantly and in fascinating detail. The narrator, while having a fine voice, serves up some excruciating mispronunciations. I run into this problem too often, and the blame lies with the publishers. They seem to have little concern for the excellence of their products. Don’t let that discourage you from buying this fine book.

Reminds you why free speech is the core freedom

The details in this book are many, but the core point that repeatedly hit me was how oftrn people suffer from Milton's Curse, that is, how often people rise to prominence and power via free speech and then very often, almost instinctually, begin to limit free spech in their wake. It is remarkable and never a good thing, as are all efforts to limit speech, even when there is a downside to allowing it, it is the greatest and most important vehicle that exists. Am excellent work chroniclally several thousand years of thought on the subject. Well worth the read.

An overwhelming amount of information

This is a scholarly tome containing a great deal of detail on freedom of speech down through the ages. But given such an overwhelming amount of detail, the book loses track of the big picture. I didn't feel his conclusion pulled it all together well and was not convinced by the book's basic thesis that Every effort to limit the freedom of speech backfires. Today, freedom of speech includes pervasive LIES that are destroying civil society. If we cannot restrict politicians from spewing nothing but lies, and if we have television stations and internet sites echoing the same, we will end up in a totalitarian state. Once the thugs take over, the same people who tout their right to say ANYTHING today will be throwing people in jail for speaking the truth.