Andrew Doyle – författare

''A sober but devastating skewering of cancel culture and the moral certainties it shares with religious fundamentalism'' Sunday Times Engaging, incisive and acute, The New Puritans is a deeply necessary exploration of our current cultural climate and an urgent appeal to return to a truly liberal society. The puritans of the seventeenth century sought to refashion society in accordance with their own beliefs, but they were deep thinkers who were aware of their own fallibility. Today, in the grasp of the new puritans, we see a very different story. Leading a cultural revolution driven by identity politics and so-called ''social justice'', the new puritanism movement is best understood as a religion - one that makes grand claims to moral purity and tolerates no dissent. Its disciples even have their own language, rituals and a determination to root out sinners through what has become known as ''cancel culture''. In The New Puritans, Andrew Doyle powerfully examines the underlying belief-systems of this ideology, and how it has risen so rapidly to dominate all major political, cultural and corporate institutions. He reasons that, to move forward, we need to understand where these new puritans came from and what they hope to achieve. Written in the spirit of optimism and understanding, Doyle offers an eloquent and powerful case for the reinstatement of liberal values and explains why it''s important we act now.

''Impassioned, scholarly and succinct'' The TimesFREE SPEECH AND WHY IT MATTERSFree speech is the bedrock of all our liberties, and yet in recent years it has come to be mistrusted. A new form of social justice activism, which perceives language as potentially violent, has prompted a national debate on where the limitations of acceptable speech should be drawn. Governments throughout Europe have enacted ''hate speech'' legislation to curb the dissemination of objectionable ideas, Silicon Valley tech giants are collaborating to ensure that they control the limitations of public discourse, and campaigners in the US are calling for revisions to the First Amendment.However well-intentioned, these trends represent a threat to the freedoms that our ancestors fought and died to secure. In this incisive and fascinating book, Andrew Doyle addresses head-on the most common concerns of free speech sceptics, and offers a timely and robust defence of this most foundational of principles.

''Thought provoking and entertaining. Andrew Doyle''s intellect dazzles'' Jimmy Carr''A magisterial read . . . divinely inspired writing and commentary from one of the most thoughtful intellectuals of our time'' Michael Shermer''The best work yet by the creator of genius parody Titania McGrath'' The CriticA revelatory investigation into the rise and fall of the ''woke'' movement and how we can prevent it from happening again. It is no secret that we are in the midst of a cultural revolution. Activists in the ''woke'' movement have claimed to be on the right side of history, and yet their approach has been intolerant, intemperate and, above all, illiberal. Having dominated the western world for the past fifteen years, there are clear signs the woke are now losing their power. The re-election of Donald Trump, the scaling back of DEI initiatives, and a growing awareness of the threats to women''s sex-based rights has stirred a counter-revolution. But is this truly the end of woke? Or have the culture wars merely evolved?In The End of Woke, Doyle skilfully examines the mechanisms underlying the zealous extremes on both the left and the right. He shows that, in a desperate power struggle to re-assert liberal values, some leaders of the anti-woke movement have found themselves adopting a different kind of authoritarian approach - one which also promotes censorship and erodes our freedoms.Doyle argues that although authoritarianism is common to all political tribes, we must resist its pernicious influence wherever it emerges. After all, replacing one form of tyranny with another will not end the culture wars. But liberalism - true liberalism - might just see the end of woke for good.

Den populäre programledaren och uppskattade debattören Andrew Doyle ger oss ett brinnande försvarstal för alla andra friheters fundament – vår rätt att tala och tänka fritt. När samhället i tänkt välmening tar allt kraftfullare tag mot så kallad hatretorik bland annat genom strängare lagar och inskränkningar på sociala medier, visar författaren i denna skarpa och fascinerande bok hur vi undergräver vad tidigare yttrandefrihetskämpar slagits och dött för.

Med en bakgrund som lärare, ståuppkomiker och en avhandling om poesi under renässansen uttrycker sig Doyle med kunskap, insikt, värme och frustration. Bär med dig denna bok in i framtiden - den är essentiell!

“En kraftfull, aktuell och tyvärr alltför nödvändig bok.”

- RICHARD DAWKINS

“En fantastiskt bok i rättan tid av en av de smartaste tänkarna i Storbritanien.”

- PIERS MORGAN

“Passionerad, akademisk och koncis.”  

- DOMNIC MAXWELL, THE TIMES

“Grundboken vi har behövt under en längre tid.”

- AREO MAGAZINE

“Doyles bok är kortfattad, återhållsam och lika noggrant argumenterad som en erfaren jurists slutplädering i ett högklassigt rättegångsdrama ... en vackert balanserad och heltäckande översikt.”

- THE CRITIC