In the U.S., the Ku Klux Klan can freely proclaim the purity of the Aryan race. Provocative racist slurs, even symbolic acts of intimidation such as burning a cross in the yard of a black family's home, go unpunished. Neo-Nazis are free to demonstrate, wearing fascist uniforms and displaying the swastika, outside the homes of Jews.

Those opposed to the Vietnam War could parade in courts with badges that read "Fuck the draft" and declare that if they were drafted, the first person they would kill would be the President of the United States. The press is free to publish even the most malicious criticism, distort reality, make false claims, provoke outrage, or cause emotional distress.

And it is not just every form and content of written or spoken speech that claims – and usually enjoys – full protection. Every symbolic act containing a message claims the right of freedom. All liberal and democratic constitutions contain provisions for freedom of speech and the press. Around the world, freedom of expression has fervent supporters, and it enjoys protection in all liberal democracies.

However, nowhere is this protection as strong as in the U.S. Consequently, the American approach to this issue concerns us all. Freedom of speech in the U.S., perhaps the most emblematic work of Stavros Tsakirakis, has been a landmark in Greek literature on freedom of expression, as it introduced the Greek public to the jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court and taught generations of students. Its new edition has been enriched with later significant rulings from the same court, a preface, and a comprehensive afterword.