I have been a real fan of A.C. Grayling’s books of essays for some time. His wit and the directness of his thinking are unusual in this era of spin and style. So I was intrigued when I found out he had written this book – subtitled “The story of the struggles for liberty and rights that made the modern west”. It is certainly a subject that demands attention in this age of patriot acts, terrorism and counter-terrorism. The theme that the rights and liberties that we enjoy thoughtlessly in the west were hard won by our forebears is one that is an important reminder for us here and now, in New Zealand as in any other western democracy. After reading this book, though, I somehow left it much as I had entered it, feeling that it was a weighty subject that deserved a thorough treatment. It’s not that this is a bad book – it is in fact quite good – just that it feels like it should be a great book given the subject matter in order to do it justice. And, indeed, after reading this book I felt that I had only scratched the surface of the topic. So, a worthy introduction, but I am waiting for the in depth study.
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