'The War on Our Freedoms: Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism'; New Book from The Century Foundation and PublicAffairs 6/9/2003
From: Christy Hicks of The Century Foundation, 212-452-7723, hicks@tcf.org NEW YORK, June 9 -- With the whole world watching, America, in the name of freedom, has twice gone to war half way around the globe. But here at home, the war on our freedoms is being conducted largely behind closed doors. The government has adopted numerous policies that challenge existing legal norms, freedom of information, and many basic civil liberties. Yet it is still far from clear that the nation is much safer. "In The War on Our Freedoms: Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism" (A Century Foundation book, published by PublicAffairs, June 2003) fourteen thinkers, scholars, journalists, and historians warn that we may be giving up more of our freedoms than we realize to gain less security than we need. They argue that the rush to limit civil liberties in the name of national security is ultimately destructive to American values and may, in some cases, impede efforts in the war on terrorism. Contributors to the volume include Anthony Lewis, Kathleen Sullivan, John Podesta, Alan Brinkley, Stanley Cloud, Joseph Lelyveld, Christopher Edley Jr., Ann Beeson, E.J. Dionne, John Stacks, Roberto Suro, Richard C. Leone, Stephen Schulhofer, and Patricia Thomas (See link to bios below). In a series of essays, they detail how due process is being undermined, government secrecy is on the rise, racial profiling is rampant, immigration policies are being compromised, and individual freedoms are at risk. A central theme is that this war on our freedoms is being conducted largely behind closed doors, and with little public debate. Richard C. Leone and Greg Anrig, Jr. are the co-editors of "The War on Our Freedoms." "The struggle against terrorism could continue for generations, and we run the risk of finding ourselves on a slippery slope, making decisions in which freedoms that are set aside for the 'emergency' become permanently lost to us," Richard C. Leone, writes in the introductory essay. "In the end, the freedoms we abridge in the interest of security will be largely the result of choices that we, not the terrorists, make." The editors and contributors to the volume are available for interviews. For more information, contact Christy Hicks at 212-452-7723 or visit us at http://www.waronourfreedoms.com. Bios: http://www.waronourfreedoms.com/contributors.htm Excerpts: http://www.waronourfreedoms.com/content.htm "The War on Our Freedoms" A Century Foundation Book Richard C. Leone and Greg Anrig, Jr., editors PublicAffairs, Publisher Paper, 317 pp. $15.00 ISBN 1-58648-210-6 To order call: 1-800-255-1514 ------ The Century Foundation is a research foundation that undertakes timely, critical, and analytical studies of major economic, political, and social institutions and issues. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, TCF was founded in 1919 and endowed by Edward A. Filene. | |