Wake Up: Why the ‘liberal’ war on free speech is even more dangerous than Covid-19

Wake Up: Why the ‘liberal’ war on free speech is even more dangerous than Covid-19

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  • Create Date:2021-06-08 04:53:40
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
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  • Author:Piers Morgan
  • ISBN:0008392609
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Summary

’The biggest threat to our freedom in the 21st century isn’t coronavirus but hysterically woke liberals trying to kill democracy by suppressing free speech。




’This is my clarion call, as a liberal myself, for them to stop screaming, shaming and cancelling everyone they disagree with, and start being part of the solution to global disharmony and division – not the problem。’



In 2020, the world faced its biggest crisis in a generation: a global pandemic。 In the UK, it exposed deep divisions within society and laid bare a toxic culture war that had been raging beneath the surface。 From the outset, Piers Morgan urged the nation to come to its senses, once and for all, and held the Government to often ferocious account over its handling of the crisis。


COVID-19 shed shocking light on the problems that plague our country。 Stockpilers and lockdown-cheats revealed our grotesque levels of self-interest。 Millennials flocked to parks for picnics, proving the rank hypocrisy of the supposedly ‘socially conscious’。 Attention-seeking celebrities tried to make the war about their struggle。 And the virtue-signalling woke brigade continued their furious assault on free speech, shutting down debate on important issues like gender, racism and feminism。
 
Yet just as coronavirus exposed our flaws, it also showcased our strengths。 We saw selfless bravery in the heroic efforts of our healthcare staff。 A greater appreciation of migrant workers。 A return of local community spirit。 And inspiring, noble acts from members of the public such as Captain Sir Tom Moore。
 
Wake Up is Piers’ rallying cry for a united future in which we reconsider what really matters in life。 It is a plea for the return of true liberalism, where freedom of speech is king。 Most of all, it is a powerful account of how the world finally started to wake up, and why it mustn’t go back to sleep again。

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Reviews

Gladys Mckenzie

Brilliant book。 When you read about the woke culture (illiberal liberalism) who aim to shame, villify, cancel and silence anyone who dares voice contrary opinions to their own, it is so scary and sad and freedom of speech is slowly becoming a thing of the past。 We are becoming a fearful society, everyone walking on eggshells for fear of offending。 To have objectionable opinions to the wokies could lead to destroying careers and lives。 Cancel culture is poisonous, intolerant and illiberal。 Democr Brilliant book。 When you read about the woke culture (illiberal liberalism) who aim to shame, villify, cancel and silence anyone who dares voice contrary opinions to their own, it is so scary and sad and freedom of speech is slowly becoming a thing of the past。 We are becoming a fearful society, everyone walking on eggshells for fear of offending。 To have objectionable opinions to the wokies could lead to destroying careers and lives。 Cancel culture is poisonous, intolerant and illiberal。 Democracy will die if freedom of speech is denied。 If you liked Piers Morgan before, you will love him once you read this book。 As he says, it is time to WAKE UP。 。。。more

Alexandre Pires

Apesar de achar importante o papel dele e concordar com várias das ideias, achei o livro repetitivo e desestruturado。 Sem falar na pataquada de ele ser o defensor máximo do confinamento e ao mesmo tempo se dizer um liberal。

Nicolene Murdoch

You can say what you want, Piers has a way with words。 I can only dream to be so articulate and “nail on the head”。 He has his moments, but I really enjoy his perspective。 I feel like there should be a part two。。。 Audio book narrated by the author。

Chloe Elliott

Piers represents thoughts and feelings in today's society which are not greatly accepted。 He provides a voice to those who have opinions which are different from the majority。This books requires an open mind to consider the views of Piers and other like minded individuals as well as understanding and accepting others different opinions。Personally I found this to be an excellent read and while I didn't agree with some aspects, I do think Piers brought a realistic and down to earth approach on man Piers represents thoughts and feelings in today's society which are not greatly accepted。 He provides a voice to those who have opinions which are different from the majority。This books requires an open mind to consider the views of Piers and other like minded individuals as well as understanding and accepting others different opinions。Personally I found this to be an excellent read and while I didn't agree with some aspects, I do think Piers brought a realistic and down to earth approach on many topics featured in our press and media。 This book helped me to not feel so alone in having different thoughts from most people。 。。。more

Alex Whigham

Bought this book because I didn’t like to see Piers Morgan cancelled。 An alright book, agreed with his opinions on cancel culture (that it should stop) and free speech (that there should be more of it)。 Most other opinions he has in the book I didn’t really agree with, I don’t think the book will age well either。 It was well written and put together though。

Marcus Latham

Love him or hate him he has a to be heard。 Morgan makes several interesting points and exposes the hypocrisy of many when it comes to free speech。

Lynne Gosden

Woke IndeedI am glad I read it - but it did get boring and repetitive。I agree with PM and hop things change

L'aura

This was an interesting read but overall nothing especially well thought out or written。 It’s conceived as a sort of diary from the first half of 2020 in which Morgan muses over things that are happening, but it’s often little more than an extended cut of his tweets — in fact, very often the author just copies and pastes discussions he had on Twitter。 Pages where he goes on and on about taking to Twitter and his tweet being immediately met with praise or outrage are the ones that occasionally ma This was an interesting read but overall nothing especially well thought out or written。 It’s conceived as a sort of diary from the first half of 2020 in which Morgan muses over things that are happening, but it’s often little more than an extended cut of his tweets — in fact, very often the author just copies and pastes discussions he had on Twitter。 Pages where he goes on and on about taking to Twitter and his tweet being immediately met with praise or outrage are the ones that occasionally made me cringe。 I don’t entirely dislike Morgan。 I’m aware that he’s a controversial figure and that he really likes himself, but to be perfectly honest when you live in a country like mine, where public television is controlled by political parties and newspapers are owned by rich friends of political parties, you kind of really appreciate someone who’s always outspoken and takes no prisoners the way Morgan does。 I’ve watched several clips of him confronting the British government about covid and I can guarantee you, I was mesmerised。 No one here would even dare to dream about it。 Yet, the book left me underwhelmed。 Of course it’s mainly about wokeness and culture wars, which means it couldn’t possibly showcase the best Morgan has to offer because his opinions are bigoted more often than they aren’t, but even when he has a point about the dangers of illiberal liberalism (and sometimes he does) he just uses the wrong words (aggressive and sometimes flat out disrespectful) to drive it home。 。。。more

Robert

I'm indifferent to Piers Morgan most of the time, he seems to be a marmite type character with many fans and many detractors and then there's a muddy history with implications of phone hacking from his editor days in the Daily Mirror (I can't state what is and what is not fact in this case, I hadn't followed this story closely enough at the time)。 Of course more lately his comments in regard to Megan Markle after her public interview with Oprah (along with her husband) seem to have split opinion I'm indifferent to Piers Morgan most of the time, he seems to be a marmite type character with many fans and many detractors and then there's a muddy history with implications of phone hacking from his editor days in the Daily Mirror (I can't state what is and what is not fact in this case, I hadn't followed this story closely enough at the time)。 Of course more lately his comments in regard to Megan Markle after her public interview with Oprah (along with her husband) seem to have split opinions down the middle, not to mention Pier's support for Donald trump in the past (I'm not a fan to say the least), I guess on that final one, if you are a Trump supporter it might give you more affinity towards Piers and if not the you might not look favorably on Piers due to this past friendship (although Piers has since renounced Trump due to much of his actions during his tenure as President of the USA)。What I can say after reading the book is that Piers is definitely a more nuanced character than black or white, this side or that。 This is one of the main themes of the book also from the author, not so much about himself but about life in general。 He makes an excellent point throughout this book about how modern culture (and by this I mean very recent modern culture within the past few years) expects people to fall into one camp or not, no middle ground and everyone being at each others throats。 It's hard not to have some affinity towards him after reading the book, you might not agree with everything he says or stands for but he makes very fair points on a lot of topics。 It would seem from those who shout the loudest in the public domain of television, politics and online, that the world is divided into mostly ultra right wingers or ultra left wingers。 While in reality I expect most of us are somewhere in the middle, probably being more conservative on some topics, more progressive on others and probably undecided and open to a lot of nuances on a lot of issues。 I enjoyed this book, it was a thoughtful read。 I found myself thinking that most of Piers Morgan's arguments were quite sensible。 Some things I thought were a bit over the top but I couldn't disagree with a lot of the stuff he wrote, quite the opposite in fact。 I did learn a new phrase also, "virtue signaling" 。。。 maybe a small bit of that from yourself Piers eh? ;) 。。。 ah well, nobody's perfect, another theme in the book by the way when you read between the lines。I'd recommend this to everyone, whether you are fan or not, you should be open to listening to other opinions at the very least, then after, make up your own mind。 。。。more

Rosie

Can be very controversial but good for politics Alevel。 He really attacked those 'woke liberals' Can be very controversial but good for politics Alevel。 He really attacked those 'woke liberals' 。。。more

James Lees

Clearly a shallow thinker。 Morgan claims that he is a liberal which means saying what you want regardless of the offence caused, and also because he can and always has done。 This is effectively conservatism, wrapped up in a left-wing blanket。 Man offended by everything claims everyone else is constantly offended。 If it doesn’t impact you then maybe you should just allow things to change for the sake of the actually impacted minorities? This book is about an old washed up guy witnessing the world Clearly a shallow thinker。 Morgan claims that he is a liberal which means saying what you want regardless of the offence caused, and also because he can and always has done。 This is effectively conservatism, wrapped up in a left-wing blanket。 Man offended by everything claims everyone else is constantly offended。 If it doesn’t impact you then maybe you should just allow things to change for the sake of the actually impacted minorities? This book is about an old washed up guy witnessing the world growing and moving on around him while he’s too slow to realise。。。I do find myself agreeing with some points Morgan makes, only for his incessant whining to make me wish I didn’t。 The man loves to complain which is odd considering I think his most used word in this book is hypocrite! When Morgan spoke about pandemic related issues I totally agreed with his approach which he was noted for having a redemption moment by many people。 。。。more

Jane

Like some of the other reviewers, I am also not a huge fan of @Piersmorgan, but I read the book because the subject intrigued me。 The book contained a lot of repetition (which was a little tedious, although following the diary theme, I can see why it was so repetitive) but Piers did make several valid points。 Overall, it was refreshing to see that someone was prepared to break cover and call time on the 'cancel culture'。 Piers is right - the cancel culture is stifling free speech, and in time (i Like some of the other reviewers, I am also not a huge fan of @Piersmorgan, but I read the book because the subject intrigued me。 The book contained a lot of repetition (which was a little tedious, although following the diary theme, I can see why it was so repetitive) but Piers did make several valid points。 Overall, it was refreshing to see that someone was prepared to break cover and call time on the 'cancel culture'。 Piers is right - the cancel culture is stifling free speech, and in time (if it hasn't already started), the premature shut-down of any different/opposing opinions will have a negative impact on debate and decision-making。 。。。more

Shaun

Loathe him or love him Piers Morgan is a polarising public figure。 But this book makes you pause and think。 Found it absolutely fascinating。 Really enjoyed it,

Myitzu

Once you get through the self-aggrandising writing style and the numerous quotes and tweet-filled pages, this book is a deeply entertaining collection of rants against everything that’s wrong with illiberal liberalism and woke culture。 Would recommend as a light read! PS - also thoroughly enjoyed the snips on all the Meghan Markle bull heh。

Rahul Deodhar

One of the important lessons from this book is that life is full of nuance。 Any extreme position, left or right, is soon enough exposed as ridiculous。 Wish Morgan elaborated and examined critically his opinions。 The narrative style means he fleets from issue to issue voicing his views on various topics in the context of the developments taking place。 Definitely read once。

Charlotte P

I am really glad I read this book: not because I love Piers Morgan, but because it reminded me that you can like and agree with some things somebody thinks, and not others, and that’s okay。 I have long been concerned that we are encouraged by society to view people in terms of binary good/bad。 And if a person does or says something society considers to be bad, then that person is branded a fascist/racist/sexist and everything they have ever done now needs to be condemned as bad too。 Life is neve I am really glad I read this book: not because I love Piers Morgan, but because it reminded me that you can like and agree with some things somebody thinks, and not others, and that’s okay。 I have long been concerned that we are encouraged by society to view people in terms of binary good/bad。 And if a person does or says something society considers to be bad, then that person is branded a fascist/racist/sexist and everything they have ever done now needs to be condemned as bad too。 Life is never that simple and never that binary。 Whilst I find Morgan’s on air interview style regularly frustrating (mainly how he interrupts and shouts over people) I found the book far less annoying (nobody to interrupt 😂) and I was surprised to find myself agreeing with much of what he says。 I also disagreed with some of it, but what he argues for above all else is his right to express his views (and for all people to express their views within reason) without being ‘cancelled’。 I think people would be foolish to dismiss this book as fascist or right wing (Morgan is actually left wing) because like it or not many people in the UK agree with him and dismissing their beliefs as “stupid” is not the way to win them round。 Wake Up is, if nothing else, a reminder to try to see the nuance and other side of every situation。 。。。more

Ladan

I liked a lot of the arguments in the book。 I disagree with those that were made for justifying assassination of a General in another country。 As someone from a country with huge gender equality issues but with a gender-neutral language (that does not have any gender specific pronouns), I can assure you that you can talk politically correct (use folks instead of guys, and blah blah) but still have problems with gender equality。

Helder Barroso

I was given this book as gift, I wouldn't have purchased this book myself as I am not the biggest fan of Piers Morgan。 I give this a book a 2。5 to 3 stars for the simple fact that I liked how piers talked about each day of the last year reminding me of the hardest year the world has had for centuries。 It jogged my mind to days I had forgotten about and gave me a different perspective on what went on in 2020。 I had never really understood what Woke Culture was until this book and I now have a bet I was given this book as gift, I wouldn't have purchased this book myself as I am not the biggest fan of Piers Morgan。 I give this a book a 2。5 to 3 stars for the simple fact that I liked how piers talked about each day of the last year reminding me of the hardest year the world has had for centuries。 It jogged my mind to days I had forgotten about and gave me a different perspective on what went on in 2020。 I had never really understood what Woke Culture was until this book and I now have a better understanding of this。 I think most Piers followers will love this book and most of Piers haters will hate this book。 。。。more

Laura Dolan

This is very funny in spots and if you are a fan of Piers you will be regaled by his wit, humour and by his relatable viewpoints on everything from wokery, to veganism to transgenderism to Meghan and Harry。 A criticism would be that there was too much commentary on the pandemic and on how the UK handled the pandemic to make this book entertaining the entire way through。 Also, Piers' pessimism about the future is rather depressing at times, particularly in the final chapter。 This is very funny in spots and if you are a fan of Piers you will be regaled by his wit, humour and by his relatable viewpoints on everything from wokery, to veganism to transgenderism to Meghan and Harry。 A criticism would be that there was too much commentary on the pandemic and on how the UK handled the pandemic to make this book entertaining the entire way through。 Also, Piers' pessimism about the future is rather depressing at times, particularly in the final chapter。 。。。more

Dominic

If you like Piers you'll like the book, if you don't then you won't。 Bought this in support of free speech and didn't initially intend to actually read it。 Wish I hadn't。 If you like Piers you'll like the book, if you don't then you won't。 Bought this in support of free speech and didn't initially intend to actually read it。 Wish I hadn't。 。。。more

Pavel

Well done Mr Morgan。 。。。never liked him but this book is pure gold in the f。。。ed up society

Jen Bishop

A bit overindulgent

Imogen Reid

A lot of this book was written with so much hypocrisy and smugness??? ~but~ the description of the total shambles of the UK government’s initial response to the pandemic was pretty accurate。Definitely not a book I’d normally go near (it was a book club choice) buuut I hated it less than I thought I would。

d a miller

Can’t disagreeHe might spout no nonsense at times, but with the bulk of this book I can’t disagree with the content。

D L

I may not 100% agree with Piers Morgan on a plethora of subject matters, but I do 100% praise his new book, Wake Up, which perfectly epitomizes the values and characteristics — informed and humble reflection, cogent reasoning, tolerance of differences, openness to discourse and criticism, compassion for fellow human beings— real liberals stand and plea for。 The book covers his diaries from January to July 2020 in which we see through his journalistic reflections the unfolding of the disastrous m I may not 100% agree with Piers Morgan on a plethora of subject matters, but I do 100% praise his new book, Wake Up, which perfectly epitomizes the values and characteristics — informed and humble reflection, cogent reasoning, tolerance of differences, openness to discourse and criticism, compassion for fellow human beings— real liberals stand and plea for。 The book covers his diaries from January to July 2020 in which we see through his journalistic reflections the unfolding of the disastrous mishandling of Boris Johnson and the institutions throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the intensification of the culture war which has further implications on the intolerance and division of our society as well as our constitutional and fundamental freedom of expression, the changing attitude and increasing intolerance of the public opinion towards the hypocrisy of celebrities, and the progression of and challenges to the very one thing that unites us all amid the global crisis — humanity。 Through his reflections, we see how Morgan stays unshakably loyal to his duty as a journalist as he seeks voraciously for facts and solutions throughout his coverage of the pandemic; we also see how he is not in the slightest a politician for that he is neither ambivalent on his stances nor hesitant in challenging, debating with, and unavoidably aggravating those in power or in number with his “aggressive” interview style so as to hold them accountable。 It is clear from the diaries that, in the early stage of the outbreak, Morgan was among the first journalists to question the accuracy of figures released by the UK government when he brought public attention to the obvious discrepancy between the actual test capacity and that promised and subsequently reported by the UK health officials。 He helped bring to the sunlight the severe shortage of PPEs among hospitals where frontline NHS health workers were left empty-handed and unprotected, sacrificing their own lives to save that of others。 Morgan is not reserved in showing in his diaries his anger at the situation。 He sets a new standard for investigative journalism by roasting the uninformed, unprepared, complacent, and often surprisingly self-contradictory MPs like Matt Hancock, Robert Janrick, and Mayor Sadiq Khan, with his brazen harsh questions which aim at targeting the core of issues and exposing the weakness and incompetence of these critical figures。 Morgan is unquestionably one of the best journalists of our century。 I also praise Morgan for his perspicacity in weathering through all the controversies, debates, vitriols, vilification, internet abuses, and hysterical smear campaigns resulted from his outspoken personality without losing a tiny bit of perspective on what truly matters。 In the book, we see his emotional turmoil facing these matters of negativity, but what truly impressive is how he was tough and unwaveringly brave enough to galvanize the society with causes which actually made more positive changes to the life of those affected than did many of his critics。 Morgan makes apparent his adoration and admiration for Captain Sir Tom Moore in his reflections。 He helped boost his campaign in support of NHS Charities Together from £1000 to £32。79 million and using his platform called for the granting of knighthood to Captain Sir Moore。 His diaries explain his motivation and how he regarded this event as an opportunity for national unity in a time of crisis。 He recalls in the book that, using his platform, he also helped monitor government policies and lobbied for U-turns in the government’s decisions on subject matters like free parking for NHS staff and food vouchers for millions of kids who could have suffered from hunger due to the suspension of classes。 So in sharp contrast to the toxic speech environment he often finds himself entangled in, throughout his reflection, I see quiet persistence, enduring composure, unpretentious kindness, and heartwarming compassion for his fellow human beings。Another highlight of the book is his uncompromising loyalty to liberalism which manifests itself in his humility by being constantly aware of the possibility of him being wrong and by calling for equal freedom of expression for those he disagrees with。 On plenty of subject matters like the missing of focus and the radicalization of a BLM minority and its implication on public support for the cause, he argues with reason and common sense, as he "thinks" he is right while he is not sure if he "knows" he is right。 This is in sharp contrast to his celebrity critics who normally throw the better-than-thou card with self-righteousness printed on one side and virtue-signaling on the other with proper reasoning the only thing lacking。 Even in his diaries he is outspoken on fighting cancel culture by questioning and debunking the hypocrisy of big names like Meghan and Harry who flew private jets like taxi service the same day after educating the public on the importance of paying attention to our carbon footprint。 He is almost callous in the way he exposes the double standard of Hollywood legends like Meryl Streep and Madonna。 He does not save a bit of his bitterness when he criticizes the Beckham couple for firing their staff in the most difficult time。 He both stands for his stance and acts with great integrity。Last but not least, you see growth throughout his reflections。 He admits that Covid-19 has changed him and helped him see what truly matters in life。 This is clearly embodied by the decreasing coverage of celebrity updates through the course of time as he devotes more energy to causes that actually matter in the crisis。 He also reflects on his past tactics in handling debates with super-woke hysterics and calls upon mutual understanding and unity, which is the conclusion of this book。Piers Morgan is far from perfect, but so is humanity。 In this book, Morgan unequivocally acknowledges his weakness, vulnerabilities, and struggles。 His humble and honest reflection in this book enlightens on how all of us, with our unique imperfections and differences, can help protect and fortify democracy by standing firm to the very values of liberalism advocated by our forerunners like George Orwell and Noam Chomsky which should, among all other purposes, first unite us together。 。。。more

Susan Rigby

StunningA brilliant book from start to finish。 Really enjoyed it,it's so very interesting and true。 Superb ,read it now 。 StunningA brilliant book from start to finish。 Really enjoyed it,it's so very interesting and true。 Superb ,read it now 。 。。。more

R。T。 Islington

Just a written format of Piers Mogan's ramblings as seen on GMB。 I agree with him completely; the world has gone nuts and the woke mobsters, illiberal liberals and mob culture on social media is causing more harm than good。 Piers provides some great examples and puts a comedic spin on some of these tales despite them being utterly insane! Just a written format of Piers Mogan's ramblings as seen on GMB。 I agree with him completely; the world has gone nuts and the woke mobsters, illiberal liberals and mob culture on social media is causing more harm than good。 Piers provides some great examples and puts a comedic spin on some of these tales despite them being utterly insane! 。。。more

Kevinjwoods

I suspect Piers Morgan thinks this makes him look good, in reality he tends to come off as the sort of clueless me in who believes Facebook posts are more reliable than actual research, which is something he clearly never does, take his reasons for hating John Legend, apparently when they first met he used his power as a singer to seduce Chrissy Teigen and force her to sleep with him thus making him an abuser, unfortunately anybody spending a minute researching would discover that Piers genuinel I suspect Piers Morgan thinks this makes him look good, in reality he tends to come off as the sort of clueless me in who believes Facebook posts are more reliable than actual research, which is something he clearly never does, take his reasons for hating John Legend, apparently when they first met he used his power as a singer to seduce Chrissy Teigen and force her to sleep with him thus making him an abuser, unfortunately anybody spending a minute researching would discover that Piers genuinely thinks that he forced her into a happy marriage with 2 children because there couldn't possibly be any other explanation。 In other places he declared himself such a Feminist that he gets to decide which women are or are not allowed to call themselves Feminists, and his dividing line is if a woman is comfortable in her body and enjoys showing it she can't be a feminist, the sheer ludicrousness of this presumably doesn't need to be mentioned。There are other cases where he accused female pop stars of abusing their power when complaining about their shopping visits, while frequently mentioning his hatred of Greggs Vegan sausage rollsOn the this book will only find a receptive audience among those who shouldn't be trusted with scissors never mind an opinion 。。。more

Bradley Endsor

Whilst this book can often find me biting my tongue as he defends his authoritarian impulse whilst claiming to be liberal and falling into the trap of viewing events through a narrative。 This was a highly enjoyable read and would say it is a worthwhile recommendation

Mr Adam D Pearshouse

An essential read。Regardless of whether you agree with Piers Morgan's opinions or not, this book is an important read。 That's kind of the point。 An essential read。Regardless of whether you agree with Piers Morgan's opinions or not, this book is an important read。 That's kind of the point。 。。。more