Inventing Human Rights: A History

Lynn Hunt

Book cover for Inventing Human Rights: A History
Image for variant 9780393331998
Book cover for Inventing Human Rights: A History
Image for variant 9780393331998

Inventing Human Rights: A History

Inventing Human Rights: A History

Lynn Hunt

Member Benefits

  • 30% Off All Books - Savings that support storytellers, not stock prices.
  • Fight Book Bans - Every membership sends a book to LGBTQ+ youth in affected states.
Member Book Price
$16.95 $11.87
Non-Member Book Price $16.95

An annual membership will be billed at $48/year.

Discount applies to first-time members only. Already a member? Log in here.
View full details

Description
In this extraordinary work of cultural and intellectual history, Hunt grounds the creation of human rights in the changes that authors brought to literature, the rejection of torture as a means of finding out truth and the spread of empathy.

Critical Reviews

Fast-paced, provocative, and ultimately optimistic. Declarations, she writes, are not empty words but transformative; they make us want to become the people they claim we are.-- "The New Yorker"

A provocative and engaging history of the political impact of human rights.--Gary J. Bass "New Republic"

As Americans begin to hold their leaders accountable for the mistakes made in the war against terror, this book ought to serve as a guide to thinking about one of the most serious mistakes of all, the belief that America can win that war by revoking the Declaration that brought the nation into being.--Alan Wolfe "Commonweal"

This is a wonderful story of the emergence and development of the powerful idea of human rights, written by one of the leading historians of our time.--Amartya Sen

Elegant... intriguing, if not audacious... Hunt is an astute historian.--Joanna Bourke "Harper's"

Rich, elegant, and persuasive.-- "London Review of Books"

Publishing Information

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Pub date: 2008-04-01
Length: 272 pages

The Allstora Membership

Membership Perks:

  • Save 30% on all online store purchases
  • Exclusive access to author's content
  • You pay less, but authors still earn double

Membership Terms:

First Month: $0.00
Monthly price: $5.00
  • To access membership discount simply log in and add to cart, discount applied automatically.
  • One month free trial, cancel anytime. Membership renews on the 15th of each month.