In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror - Hardcover

Romero, Anthony D; Temple-Raston, Dina

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061142565 ISBN 13: 9780061142567

Publisher: William Morrow, 2007

Synopsis

From the executive director of the ACLU, Anthony D. Romero, and award-winning journalist Dina Temple-Raston, In Defense of Our America takes a critical look at civil liberties in this country at a time when constitutional freedoms are in peril. Using the stories of real Americans on the frontlines of the fight for civil liberties., In Defense of Our America provides a look at the dangerous erosion of the Bill of Rights in the age of terror.

Against the backdrop of post-9/11 America, readers are taken behind the scenes of some of the most important civil liberties cases in America. From the story of the "American Taliban" to the battle against the National Security Agency's warrantless spying program, In Defense of Our America tracks a roster of skirmishes in the larger fight for civil liberties in this country. It tracks an effort in Pennsylvania to force religion into the public school science curriculum and tells the story of South Dakota's attempts to place an outright ban on abortions in the state.

In a narrative that allows the characters to tell the story, In Defense of Our America offers the first inside look at the Lindh family as they saw their son and brother, John Walker Lindh, emerge as a symbol of America's battle against Islamic fundamentalism. It follows Joshua Dratel, a defense attorney at the center of many legal battles over the rights of individuals suspected of terrorism, and tells the story of a modern-day Scopes trial in Dover, Pennsylvania. The book tracks the case of Matthew Limon, a gay teenager sentenced to 17 years for having consensual oral sex with a younger teenage boy in Kansas, and looks behind the reports of a broken judicial system in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

In Defense of Our America chronicles the stories of an array of colorful characters to illustrate the state of play in today's fight for civil liberties, including Cecelia Fire Thunder, the Sioux president who wanted to open an abortion clinic on her South Dakota reservation, and high school science teacher Bertha Spahr who defied a school board dominated by fundamentalist Christians by taking a stand against "intelligent design."

With unparalleled access to key players in some of the landmark tests of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, In Defense of Our America weaves together a compelling narrative that provides an unusually full look at the fight for civil liberties as Americans struggle to protect their rights and ensure their security.

About this title

About the Author:

Anthony D. Romero has been executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union since September 2001. He lives in New York City.

From AudioFile:

The authors take a bleak and worrisome look at the systematic effort underway to dismantle legal protections and subvert civil rights in the name of fighting the tyranny of Islamic extremists. Anthony D. Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), paints a picture of how the George W. Bush White House seized on the terrorist attacks of 9/11 to begin an unprecedented assault on the Bill of Rights. Narrator Michael Prichard keeps the listener engaged in a complex and detailed treatise. His strong, dispassionate voice and consistent pace reinforce the sense that Romeros arguments are, at heart, legal in nature. His even-keeled delivery underscores the credibility of this substantive assessment of how America has succumbed to fear and tyranny from within. J.B.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0061142565
• ISBN 13: 9780061142567
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272