free speech 101

i just finished reading an advance copy of my friend joe vogel's book, free speech 101. my getting to read an advance copy was contingent upon me writing a review for it. so here it is. in all seriousness, it was an excellent read that i would recommend to anyone and everyone. it comes out in mid august. you can reserve a copy for only $9.97 at amazon.com.

Do conservatives fear free speech? Rather than merely answering this question, Joe Vogel recounts his experience as a Vice-President of UVSC's student body responsible for inviting the 'liberal' filmmaker Michael Moore to speak just weeks before the monumental 2004 presidential elections. Though the story behind Free Speech 101 takes place in Utah County, it is a paradigm example of the struggles that occur as a predominantly conservative community is confronted with new ideas and new voices. As a key participant in the event, Vogel provides behind the scenes insights of the battle for free speech, showing how some may use their politics, power and money to silence ideas that differ from their own.

Through his own first-person narrative, Vogel illustrates that the fight for free speech is not an issue only affecting nations and communities, but is an issue strongly affecting each individual member and voice of those communities – liberal or conservative.