Civil Liberties in Opposing Viewpoints series

Civil Liberties (from the Opposing Viewpoints Series)

When charged with writing this review, I must admit I groaned inwardly. How was I going to find the time to read this book and write a review? Especially a review that anyone would want to read? Needless to say, I chose a book that was short!

Then, I started to read the book and was almost immediate fascinated by it. Civil liberties is not exactly a titillating subject (unless you consider the pornography/freedom of expression angle). However, this book presented both sides of the issues in such a balanced way that I found myself sympathizing with most aspects of the pro and con arguments.

On the issue of first amendment rights, the book presents no less than eight arguments on various aspects of free speech. From flag burning to hate speech to pornography, every argument was covered. If I had to write a paper on the first amendment, this book would be a great place to start. Other subjects in the book included separation of church and state, technology and privacy, and the War on Terror's affect on our civil liberties. At the end of each section, the editors even refer to other articles for additional reading. This would be a great way to build a list of sources for a research paper.

The library has all of the books in this series (at least those published since 2007) available for check out. Topics range from Iraq to addiction, from genetic engineering to racial profiling. Is it any coincidence that these topics are good topics for research papers? I don't think so!

Check the library's catalog for the Opposing Viewpoints series when you are struggling to find a research paper topic this fall. These books are a great place to start.

Debbi Dinkins