Five minutes ago I signed off on the edited manuscript for my next book, a look at human rights that explains why they’re important, how the theory of human rights was developed, and how that theory might change.

It’s easy to sit back and bask in the satisfaction of another project done, but “easy” and “embarrassing yet entertaining” are two different things. So I’ll take the more embarrassing but hopefully more entertaining route of sharing a sample list of all the titles I considered (more and less seriously) and then rejected before coming up with the title my publisher will actually be using. (That title will be posted here as soon as I see the cover mockup and know for sure it’s a done deal.)

Here they are, grouped by theme.

Two Thousand Years of Human Rights
Human Rights: Past, Present and Future

Understanding Human Rights
Human Rights: Understanding Our Inherent Nobility

Equality and Human Rights
Human Rights and Potential

Hman Rights: Needs U

Rights, Responsibility and Society
Human Rights: Identity, Society and Responsibilities
Human Rights and Responsibilities
Human Rights, Roles and Responsibilities

My human rights book (I hope to be able to announce the title soon) has just entered the prep stage for final editing by the publisher, George Ronald.

A lot has happened since I first started writing it.  At the time, when I spoke about human rights I was often asked to counter the claim that human rights and associated concepts, such as equal civil rights and the rule of law, were solely of Western interest.  The protests which have swept the Middle East in recent months have hopefully made that argument passé.

But I welcome alternative takes in the comments section.