"...unique because of its U.S. emphasis and its inclusion of extensive primary source material. It is nicely organized and written at a level that makes it useful for high school and college students, as well as the general reader, and is recommended for high school, public, and academic libraries..."
-Booklist
"...invaluable for anyone interested in human rights issues ... highly recommended for all reference collections."
-ARBA
"...a conceptually thorough and well-organized reference. The definitions are relevant with valuable commentary and are linked to source documents and other related entries ... Both academic and public libraries should consider this important and timely reference for their collections."
-Against the Grain

Human Rights in the United States
A Dictionary and Documents

Table of Contents

Sample Pages

Full Text Reviews

Pub. Date: January 2009
Hardcover: Two Volumes, 750 pages
ISBN: 1-59237-290-2/978-1-59237-290-4
Price: $195.00

This two volume set offers easy to grasp explanations of the basic concepts, laws, and case law in the field, with emphasis on human rights in the historical, political, and legal experience of the United States. Human rights is a term not fully understood by many Americans.

Addressing this gap, the new second edition of Human Rights in the United States: A Dictionary and Documents offers a comprehensive introduction that places the history of human rights in the United States in an international context. It surveys the legal protection of human dignity in the United States, examines the sources of human rights norms, cites key legal cases, explains the role of international governmental and non-governmental organizations, and charts global, regional, and U.N. human rights measures.

Over 240 dictionary entries of human rights terms are detailed—ranging from asylum and cultural relativism to hate crimes and torture. Each entry discusses the significance of the term, gives examples, and cites appropriate documents and court decisions. In addition, a Documents section is provided that contains 59 conventions, treaties, and protocols related to the most up to date international action on ethnic cleansing; freedom of expression and religion; violence against women; and much more. A bibliography, extensive glossary, and comprehensive index round out this indispensable volume.

These comprehensive, timely volumes are a must for large public libraries, university libraries and social science departments, along with high school libraries.

Pub. Date: January 2009
Hardcover: Two Volumes, 750 pages
ISBN: 1-59237-290-2/978-1-59237-290-4
Price: $195.00

Note: If you find this work does not fit your budget, please print out this page and bring it to your local library. There is a reasonable chance they either have a copy, can direct you to a library that does, or will be willing to purchase it for their reference collection.