Human rights have been enshrined in international treaties for decades now, but since the UN’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, systematic infringements of it continue to be widespread. Meanwhile technology, conflict and social change continue to throw up fresh challenges about how human rights are defined and how they are defended. Our experts recommend some of the best books on the evolution, practice, breach and defence of human rights.
Professor John Tasioulas of King's College London, Steve Crawshaw of Amnesty International, and Shami Chakrabarti of the National Council for Civil Liberties all choose their best books on the subject of human rights in general terms. We also have a number of interviews focused on countries where there have been major human rights breaches: Vanora Bennett, who covered the country for Reuters, looks at Chechnya, Philip Gourevitch of the New Yorker, who has himself written a book about the tragedy, looks at the Rwandan Genocide, and Professor Jeffrey Wasserstrom looks at June 4th 1989 in Tiananmen Square, China.
Professor David Chandler talks about Cambodia, and Andrei Lankov, of Kookim University in Seoul discusses North Korea. Professor Norman Naimark, who focuses on Eastern Europe, looks at genocide.
On particular themes related to human rights, Juan Mendez, the UN’s special rapporteur on torture, looks at torture; Claire Fox looks at freedom of speech, and Andrew Cayley, who has worked as a lawyer in genocide trials, talks about war crimes. Max Mosley talks about privacy and Trevor Phillips chooses his best books on equality.
Lastly, barrister Alex McBride looks at his best books on trial by jury and Clive Stafford-Smith chooses his best books on capital punishment.
The best books on Human Rights, recommended by John Tasioulas
What are human rights? Are they reducible to the rights enshrined in law or do they somehow objectively exist? Philosopher John Tasioulas picks the best five books on human rights.
The best books on Human Rights and Literature, recommended by Lyndsey Stonebridge
The connections between human rights and literature are profound and we ignore the humanities and reading at our peril, says Lyndsey Stonebridge, Interdisciplinary Professor of Humanities at the University of Birmingham. She recommends books that best show the complex relationship between literature and human rights, from Auschwitz to Manus Island.
The best books on Human Rights, recommended by Shami Chakrabarti
Director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti says Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a thinly veiled metaphor for the War on Terror
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1
The Soul of the First Amendment
by Floyd Abrams -
2
The Free Speech Century
by Geoffrey R. Stone (Editor) & Lee C. Bollinger (Editor) -
3
Words That Wound: Critical Race Theory, Assaultive Speech, And The First Amendment
by Charles R. Lawrence III, Kimberlè Williams Crenshaw, Mari J. Matsuda & Richard Delgado -
4
Speech Police: The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet
by David Kaye -
5
Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech for All
by Suzanne Nossel
The best books on The First Amendment, recommended by Suzanne Nossel
The best books on The First Amendment, recommended by Suzanne Nossel
Frequently appealed to, less frequently understood, and by no means a free pass to say or write whatever you feel like: Suzanne Nossel, chief executive of PEN America, the nonprofit dedicated to free expression, talks us through the best books to better understand America's venerated First Amendment.
The best books on Human Rights, recommended by Gary Bass
Political scientist Gary Bass picks the five best books on human rights (this article was published on June 24th, 2009)
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1
Transitional Justice
by Ruti G Teitel -
2
A Human Being Died That Night
by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela -
3
Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law
by Mark A Drumbl -
4
Imperfect Justice: An East-West Diary
by Inga Markovits -
5
Brothers of the Gun: A Memoir of the Syrian Civil War
by Marwan Hisham and Molly Crabapple
The best books on Transitional Justice, recommended by Colleen Murphy
The best books on Transitional Justice, recommended by Colleen Murphy
When a period of war or oppression draws to a close, how should a country face up to past wrongdoing while creating a future free of conflict? Colleen Murphy—professor of law, philosophy and political science at the University of Illinois—discusses five books that examine the issues at the heart of ‘transitional justice.’
The best books on Human Rights, recommended by Steve Crawshaw
Amnesty International’s director of international advocacy chooses books that illuminate historical and contemporary human rights issues, from the Belgian Congo to Iran
The best books on Free Speech, recommended by Timothy Garton Ash
Free speech is the bedrock of a healthy society, but how do we deal with the torrents of horrible comments—and worse—we see on the internet every day? Timothy Garton Ash, author of Free Speech: Ten Principles for A Connected World, outlines a plan for navigating the complexities and recommends the best books to help us think about free speech.
The best books on Alternative Futures, recommended by Catherine Mayer
Catherine Mayer—author, journalist and president of the Women’s Equality Party—talks to Five Books about her optimism for a more equal future for society by way of her favourite science fiction visionaries and their work.
The best books on North Korea, recommended by Hyeonseo Lee
Kim Jong-un’s posturing over nuclear weapons is a distraction from more pressing concerns: the extreme poverty and disenfranchisement of his people, says North Korean defector Hyeonseo Lee. She chooses five books for understanding the hermit kingdom.
The best books on June 4th, 1989, recommended by Jeffrey Wasserstrom
In contrast to Eastern Europe, the 1989 protests in China did not lead to the overthrow of the Communist Party. But if China’s leaders chose the right course on June 4th, 1989, why are they still frightened to come to terms with it? Sinologist and historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom picks the best books to understand events at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and around China on that hot summer night.
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1
Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement
by Barbara Ransby -
2
God’s Long Summer: Stories of Faith and Civil Rights
by Charles Marsh -
3
Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
by David J. Garrow -
4
The Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader: Documents, Speeches, and Firsthand Accounts from the Black Freedom Struggle
by Clayborne Carson, Darlene Clark Hine, David J. Garrow, Gerald Gill & Vincent Harding -
5
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by Malcolm X and assisted by Alex Haley, Laurence Fishburne (narrator)
The best books on The Civil Rights Era, recommended by Lerone Martin
The best books on The Civil Rights Era, recommended by Lerone Martin
The struggle for Black freedom in America has been going on since the first enslaved Africans were brought to the continent, but it was the civil rights era of 1954 to 1968 that finally resulted in a raft of legislation that gave equal citizenship to Black people in the United States. Here, Professor Lerone Martin of Stanford University recommends the best books to understand the American civil rights movement, with a focus on some of the individuals who were key to its success.
The best books on Capital Punishment, recommended by Clive Stafford Smith
The lawyer, who’s defended many clients on death row, tells us why the legal system in capital cases is set up to fail, and says all of us should know more about what happens in an execution
The best books on Genocide, recommended by Norman Naimark
Genocide isn’t the preserve of fanatics and racist thugs – it’s part of human nature, says Stanford historian Norman Naimark. He tells us how genocide happens, who denies it, where it could return, and the best books to read about it.
The best books on Freedom of Speech, recommended by Claire Fox
Modern society has interpreted John Stuart Mill’s concept of tolerance to mean that we should avoid giving offence. The director of the Institute of Ideas tells us about books that show how far we’ve departed from what was meant
The best books on Torture, recommended by Juan Mendez
Can torture ever be justified? No, says the UN special rapporteur, who tells us how torturers try to excuse themselves and what remedies should be available to surviving victims
The best books on Privacy, recommended by Max Mosley
The former FIA president discusses privacy very openly, with candid views on the press and his own personal scandal. Recommends books on everything from media distortion to mind control
The best books on Freedom, recommended by John Kampfner
The veteran British journalist and chief executive of Index on Censorship discusses five books that address concepts of democracy and freedom
The best books on Equality, recommended by Trevor Phillips
The chairman of the Equalities & Human Rights Commission says discrimination and social injustice won’t be changed by what happens in courtrooms or parliament but by how we all behave
The best books on War Crimes, recommended by Andrew Cayley
Having served as the International Co-Prosecutor of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia, Andrew Cayley QC draws on his firsthand experience to nominate the best books on war crimes.
The best books on Trial By Jury, recommended by Alex McBride
Alex McBride, criminal barrister and author of Defending the Guilty, chooses books that illustrate the history of trial by jury. He points to influential cases in British legal history, and shows how poor regulation of the legal profession in the 19th century resulted in some questionable practices.
The best books on The Rwandan Genocide, recommended by Philip Gourevitch
The journalist and author of We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families, an account of the Rwandan genocide, explores five books on the events that left 800,000 dead in 100 days.
The best books on Chechnya, recommended by Vanora Bennett
Award winning reporter and novelist says there are no superlatives too superlative for Anna Politkovskaya, who, after three books and innumerable investigative reporting trips to Chechnya, was murdered in Moscow
The best books on Humanitarian Intervention, recommended by Philip Cunliffe
Lecturer in international conflict says the idea that it is right and legitimate for states to intervene in others’ affairs is a very dangerous trend, especially in the name of humanitarianism
The best books on Nazi Hunters, recommended by Guy Walters
The Times journalist calls Simon Wiesenthal a liar. He’s just not this secular saint that everyone says he is – his memoirs all contradict each other and are at odds with the rest of the evidence
The best books on Cambodia, recommended by David Chandler
David Chandler, one of the foremost western scholars on Cambodian history—and author of the first study of S-21, the Khmer Rouge interrogation centre—recommends the best books on Cambodia.
The best books on North Korea, recommended by Andrei Lankov
North Korea expert, Andrei Lankov, says that although North Korea is a brutal dictatorship, many people nonetheless manage to lead relatively normal lives. He recommends the best books on North Korea. (NB You can buy all our expert recommendations on North Korea by clicking here.)