In Towards the Light, A.C. Grayling tells the story of the long and difficult battle for freedom in the West, from the Reformation to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, from the battle for the vote to the struggle for the right to freedom of conscience. As Grayling passionately affirms, it is a story - and a struggle - that continues to this day as those in power use the threat of terrorism in the 21st century to roll-back the liberties that so many have fought and died to win for us. Including an appendix of landmark documents, including the British and American Bills of Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the Bloomsbury Revelations edition also includes a new preface by the author reflecting on developments since the book`s original publication.

Table of contents
Preface to the Bloomsbury Revelations Edition
Acknowledgements
1. Setting the Scene
Part I: The Demand for Liberty
2. The Reformation and the Beginning of Modern Liberty
3. Freeing the Mind
4. The Fight Against Absolutism
Part II: The Extension of Liberty
5. Slaves, Workers, Women and the Struggle for Liberty
6. The Liberty Century
7. Rights Out of Wrongs
8. The Idea of Liberty and the Verge of Betrayal Postscript
Appendices: Landmarks on the Road to Freedom
1. The Bill of Rights, 1689
2. The US Bill of Rights, 1791
3. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
4. The Chartists` `Six Points` and Petition
5. United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Notes
Bibliography
Index

A. C. Grayling is Master of the New College of the Humanities, UK. He has written and edited numerous works of philosophy and is the author of biographies of Descartes and William Hazlitt. He believes that philosophy should take an active, useful role in society. He has been a regular contributor to The Times, Financial Times, Observer, Independent on Sunday, Economist, Literary Review, New Statesman and Prospect, and is a frequent and popular contributor to radio and television programmes, including Newsnight, Today, In Our Time, Start the Week and CNN news. He is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum at Davos, and advises on many committees ranging from Drug Testing at Work to human rights groups.