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Finding Jefferson: A Lost Letter, a Remarkable Discovery, and the First
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Finding Jefferson: A Lost Letter, a Remarkable Discovery, and the First Amendment in an Age of Terrorism Hardcover - 2007

by Dershowitz, Alan

  • Used
  • Paperback

Writing in the same engaging and humorous style that made "Chutzpah" and "The Best Defense" such strong sellers, Dershowitz shares how he came across a forgotten letter by Thomas Jefferson that has important implications for the country today.

Description

Trade Paper Press. Used - Very Good. Very Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner’s name, short gifter’s inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Used - Very Good
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From the jacket flap

Freedom of speech, the right to voice one's opinions without fear of government reprisal, is one of America's most dearly held principles--championed by the founding fathers, enshrined in the Bill of Rights, and exercised with passion and frequency by Americans of every persuasion. What happens, however, when a speaker publicly exhorts others to violent acts that threaten to cause injury or death? Can a line be drawn between speech that incites violence and that which does not, or is all speech protected under that Bill of Rights? Even Thomas Jefferson himself was silent on the subject--until now.

In Finding Jefferson, #1 New York Times-bestselling author Alan Dershowitz tells a remark-able story about how his passion for collecting led him to a discovery of tremendous historical and present-day importance. On September 8, 2006, in a dusty old Manhattan bookstore, he found an 1801 letter written by his hero Thomas Jefferson that speaks directly to the issue of intentionally harmful or dangerous speech.

Dershowitz, writing with the ardor of a collector, the energy of an advocate, and the rigor of a scholar, verifies the letter's authenticity, explains its importance within the context of Jefferson's writing, and, in true Dershowitzian style, takes his hero to task, point by opinionated point.

Finally, Dershowitz applies his extensive knowledge of Jefferson to the question of whether to restrict free speech in an age of terrorism and suicide bombings, when deterrence is rarely an option. Quoting freely from Jefferson's many writings on law, rights, and national survival, and citing his actions during the Aaron Burr treason trial, Dershowitz presents a compelling case that, today, Jefferson would probably opt for some narrow restrictions against speech intended to incite violence but would insist on protecting all other types of speech.

Engaging and passionately written, Finding Jefferson is compelling reading for anyone interested in free speech, American history, and the conflict between individual rights and national security in the face of terrorism.

"Alan Dershowitz lives and breathes history. The book is both a warm personal insight into Dershowitz, the grown-up whiz kid still fuming because his mother threw out his comic books and baseball cards, and a great lesson on democracy from one of its wisest and most articulate advocates."

Media reviews

Citations

  • Library Journal, 10/15/2007, Page 80
  • Publishers Weekly, 09/03/2007, Page 50

About the author

Harold Ramis, film director, screenwriter, and actor

ALAN DERSHOWITZ, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, is one of the country's foremost appellate lawyers and a distinguished defender of individual liberties. His many books include the #1 New York Times bestseller Chutzpah, Preemption: A Knife That Cuts Both Ways, and the Wiley books The Case for Israel, also a New York Times bestseller; The Case for Peace: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can Be Resolved; What Israel Means to Me; and Blasphemy. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.