Reviews
"Illuminating, insightful, and informative--a piquant portrait of a renegade publisher." -- Kirkus "Barney Rosset was one of the most important American cultural figures of the twentieth century. This marvelous book brilliantly captures his and our struggles to allow all Americans to read, hear and see what the Constitution demands. He, with much turbulence, anxiety, and pain, nearly alone broke the barriers of censorship." --Martin Garbus, Esq. "Setting up shop on the corner where the mid-century avant-garde met Victorian pornography, Barney Rosset helped crack wide open the staid world of American publishing. Michael Rosenthal's smart and candid biography beautifully captures the insatiable spirit of an oft unlovely but always intrepid literary daredevil."-- Sean Wilentz, George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of History, Princeton University and author of Bob Dylan in America "From the opening sentence of this marvelous, fleet, perfectly rendered portrait of Barney Rosset--the most important American book publisher of the twentieth century--to its last--in which its crusading, preposterous and triumphantly consequential subject is winsomely extolled by one writer as "a Tom Paine of the human brain"--Michael Rosenthal has created an elegant, clear-eyed, irresistibly readable account of the renegade publisher who tore himself, and the reading public, through the rusting gates of American Puritanism and censorship. Dashing, driven, self-absorbed, maddening-- married five times and four times abandoned--Rosset was an American original. He was also from start to finish happily profligate with resources personal and financial in the pursuit of expanding the purview of the First Amendment. In this book, Rosenthal has done his subject and his readers a superb service." --Ric Burns, documentary filmmaker " Barney is a good read. Michael Rosenthal sequences interesting anecdotes by the hundred, and he's good at tracing the nonstop, edge-of-frenzy, but sharp-minded publishing decisions Barney made while partying and living fun-loving life to its fullest." --Ed Sanders, Grove Press author "We're still benefiting from the freedoms that we have because of what Barney Rosset did . . . and the battles he fought." --John Waters, quoted from the documentary Obscene "Barney Rosset to me represents the literary world of the latter half of the 20th century. . . . No amount of words will be adequate to express my gratitude to Barney Rosset." --Kenzaburo Oe "Barney Rosset was not an anonymous publisher for me. When I speak about my publisher in New York I never say 'Grove Press,' I always say 'Barney Rosset.'" --Jean Genet "Barney Rosset, whose guts and wisdom made it possible for me to read Beckett and all the other writers published by Grove, the one-in-a-million Barney Rosset, America's bravest publisher." --Paul Auster, One of Maine Public Radio's Best & Overlooked Books of 2017 "Illuminating, insightful, and informative--a piquant portrait of a renegade publisher." -- Kirkus "The book effectively describes Rosset's successful legal battles against censorship, and Rosenthal illustrates his subject's publishing philosophy with his decision to publish Samuel Beckett and William Burroughs to American audiences." -- Publishers Weekly "Michael Rosenthal, in taking a little-known and once-offensive publisher and turning insightful and witty attention to him, has bestowed a gift on readers everywhere."-- Columbia Magazine "Barney Rosset was one of the most important American cultural figures of the twentieth century. This marvelous book brilliantly captures his and our struggles to allow all Americans to read, hear and see what the Constitution demands. He, with much turbulence, anxiety, and pain, nearly alone broke the barriers of censorship." --Martin Garbus, Esq. "Setting up shop on the corner where the mid-century avant-garde met Victorian pornography, Barney Rosset helped crack wide open the staid world of American publishing. Michael Rosenthal's smart and candid biography beautifully captures the insatiable spirit of an oft unlovely but always intrepid literary daredevil."-- Sean Wilentz, George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of History, Princeton University and author of Bob Dylan in America "From the opening sentence of this marvelous, fleet, perfectly rendered portrait of Barney Rosset--the most important American book publisher of the twentieth century--to its last--in which its crusading, preposterous and triumphantly consequential subject is winsomely extolled by one writer as "a Tom Paine of the human brain"--Michael Rosenthal has created an elegant, clear-eyed, irresistibly readable account of the renegade publisher who tore himself, and the reading public, through the rusting gates of American Puritanism and censorship. Dashing, driven, self-absorbed, maddening-- married five times and four times abandoned--Rosset was an American original. He was also from start to finish happily profligate with resources personal and financial in the pursuit of expanding the purview of the First Amendment. In this book, Rosenthal has done his subject and his readers a superb service." --Ric Burns, documentary filmmaker "Michael Rosenthal sequences interesting anecdotes by the hundred, and he's good at tracing the nonstop, edge-of-frenzy, but sharp-minded publishing decisions Barney made while partying and living fun-loving life to its fullest." --Ed Sanders, Grove Press author "This slim but essential volume is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the countercultural era and Postmodernism better, a solidly done portrait of a brilliant, often infuriating champion of subversion in all forms."" -- Chicago Center for Literature and Photography "[Michael Rosenthal] is expert at zooming in on the societal elements that make Barney Rosset and Grove Press's story important . . . [He] is also pitch-perfect at demonstrating the underbelly of Rosset and Grove's success, as well as that of the entire 1960s." -- Woodstock Times "Inspiring...a colorful read peppered by episodes of hilarious irony in Rosset's business dealings and his life. Rosenthal also fills some of the gaps left by Rosset's own memoir."--Book-ish, "Barney Rosset was one of the most important American cultural figures of the twentieth century. This marvelous book brilliantly captures his and our struggles to allow all Americans to read, hear and see what the Constitution demands. He, with much turbulence, anxiety, and pain, nearly alone broke the barriers of censorship." --Martin Garbus, Esq. "Setting up shop on the corner where the mid-century avant-garde met Victorian pornography, Barney Rosset helped crack wide open the staid world of American publishing. Michael Rosenthal's smart and candid biography beautifully captures the insatiable spirit of an oft unlovely but always intrepid literary daredevil."-- Sean Wilentz, George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of History, Princeton University and author of Bob Dylan in America "From the opening sentence of this marvelous, fleet, perfectly rendered portrait of Barney Rosset--the most important American book publisher of the twentieth century--to its last--in which its crusading, preposterous and triumphantly consequential subject is winsomely extolled by one writer as "a Tom Paine of the human brain"--Michael Rosenthal has created an elegant, clear-eyed, irresistibly readable account of the renegade publisher who tore himself, and the reading public, through the rusting gates of American Puritanism and censorship. Dashing, driven, self-absorbed, maddening-- married five times and four times abandoned--Rosset was an American original. He was also from start to finish happily profligate with resources personal and financial in the pursuit of expanding the purview of the First Amendment. In this book, Rosenthal has done his subject and his readers a superb service." --Ric Burns, documentary filmmaker " Barney is a good read. Michael Rosenthal sequences interesting anecdotes by the hundred, and he's good at tracing the nonstop, edge-of-frenzy, but sharp-minded publishing decisions Barney made while partying and living fun-loving life to its fullest." --Ed Sanders, Grove Press author "We're still benefiting from the freedoms that we have because of what Barney Rosset did . . . and the battles he fought." --John Waters, quoted from the documentary Obscene "Barney Rosset to me represents the literary world of the latter half of the 20th century. . . . No amount of words will be adequate to express my gratitude to Barney Rosset." --Kenzaburo Oe "Barney Rosset was not an anonymous publisher for me. When I speak about my publisher in New York I never say 'Grove Press,' I always say 'Barney Rosset.'" --Jean Genet "Barney Rosset, whose guts and wisdom made it possible for me to read Beckett and all the other writers published by Grove, the one-in-a-million Barney Rosset, America's bravest publisher." --Paul Auster, "Barney Rosset was one of the most important American cultural figures of the twentieth century. This marvelous book brilliantly captures his and our struggles to allow all Americans to read, hear and see what the Constitution demands. He, with much turbulence, anxiety, and pain, nearly alone broke the barriers of censorship." --Martin Garbus, Esq. "We're still benefiting from the freedoms that we have because of what Barney Rosset did . . . and the battles he fought." --John Waters, quoted from the documentary Obscene "Barney Rosset to me represents the literary world of the latter half of the 20th century. . . . No amount of words will be adequate to express my gratitude to Barney Rosset." --Kenzaburo Oe "Barney Rosset was not an anonymous publisher for me. When I speak about my publisher in New York I never say 'Grove Press,' I always say 'Barney Rosset.'" --Jean Genet "Barney Rosset, whose guts and wisdom made it possible for me to read Beckett and all the other writers published by Grove, the one-in-a-million Barney Rosset, America's bravest publisher." --Paul Auster, One of Maine Public Radio's Best & Overlooked Books of 2017 "Illuminating, insightful, and informative--a piquant portrait of a renegade publisher." -- Kirkus "The book effectively describes Rosset's successful legal battles against censorship, and Rosenthal illustrates his subject's publishing philosophy with his decision to publish Samuel Beckett and William Burroughs to American audiences." -- Publishers Weekly "Michael Rosenthal, in taking a little-known and once-offensive publisher and turning insightful and witty attention to him, has bestowed a gift on readers everywhere."--Columbia Magazine "Barney Rosset was one of the most important American cultural figures of the twentieth century. This marvelous book brilliantly captures his and our struggles to allow all Americans to read, hear and see what the Constitution demands. He, with much turbulence, anxiety, and pain, nearly alone broke the barriers of censorship." --Martin Garbus, Esq. "Setting up shop on the corner where the mid-century avant-garde met Victorian pornography, Barney Rosset helped crack wide open the staid world of American publishing. Michael Rosenthal's smart and candid biography beautifully captures the insatiable spirit of an oft unlovely but always intrepid literary daredevil."-- Sean Wilentz, George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of History, Princeton University and author of Bob Dylan in America "From the opening sentence of this marvelous, fleet, perfectly rendered portrait of Barney Rosset--the most important American book publisher of the twentieth century--to its last--in which its crusading, preposterous and triumphantly consequential subject is winsomely extolled by one writer as "a Tom Paine of the human brain"--Michael Rosenthal has created an elegant, clear-eyed, irresistibly readable account of the renegade publisher who tore himself, and the reading public, through the rusting gates of American Puritanism and censorship. Dashing, driven, self-absorbed, maddening-- married five times and four times abandoned--Rosset was an American original. He was also from start to finish happily profligate with resources personal and financial in the pursuit of expanding the purview of the First Amendment. In this book, Rosenthal has done his subject and his readers a superb service." --Ric Burns, documentary filmmaker "Michael Rosenthal sequences interesting anecdotes by the hundred, and he's good at tracing the nonstop, edge-of-frenzy, but sharp-minded publishing decisions Barney made while partying and living fun-loving life to its fullest." --Ed Sanders, Grove Press author "This slim but essential volume is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand the countercultural era and Postmodernism better, a solidly done portrait of a brilliant, often infuriating champion of subversion in all forms."" -- Chicago Center for Literature and Photography "[Michael Rosenthal] is expert at zooming in on the societal elements that make Barney Rosset and Grove Press's story important . . . [He] is also pitch-perfect at demonstrating the underbelly of Rosset and Grove's success, as well as that of the entire 1960s." -- Woodstock Times "Inspiring...a colorful read peppered by episodes of hilarious irony in Rosset's business dealings and his life. Rosenthal also fills some of the gaps left by Rosset's own memoir."--Book-ish, "We're still benefiting from the freedoms that we have because of what Barney Rosset did . . . and the battles he fought." --John Waters, quoted from the documentary Obscene "Barney Rosset to me represents the literary world of the latter half of the 20th century. . . . No amount of words will be adequate to express my gratitude to Barney Rosset." --Kenzaburo Oe "Barney Rosset was not an anonymous publisher for me. When I speak about my publisher in New York I never say 'Grove Press,' I always say 'Barney Rosset.'" --Jean Genet "Barney Rosset, whose guts and wisdom made it possible for me to read Beckett and all the other writers published by Grove, the one-in-a-million Barney Rosset, America's bravest publisher." --Paul Auster "[A] splendid and marvelously animated biography . . . Mr. Rosenthal has written a wonderful book." -- Wall Street Journal (on Nicholas Miraculous ) "Diverting and meticulous . . . He writes with an historian's sense of context." --Christopher Hitchens, Washington Post (on The Character Factory )