Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Obscene -- A look at the life and work of American publisher Barney Rosset, who struggled to bring controversial works like 'Tropic of Cancer' and 'Naked Lunch' to publication.

Barney Rosset is the greatest American publisher of the twentieth century and the most influential cultural figure that you haven't heard of. Under Rosset, Grove Press and Evergreen Review fought decisive battles, including many before the state and federal supreme courts, defeated legal censorship, and opened American life to new and dangerous currents of freedom. But Rosset's public fight against hypocrisy and injustice is inextricable from his tumultuous personal life: the same unyielding, quixotic, restless energy that upended centuries of law brought Rosset perilously close to destruction.

Barney Rosset is the greatest American publisher of the twentieth century and the most influential cultural figure that you haven't heard of. Under Rosset, Grove Press and Evergreen Review fought decisive battles, including many before the state and federal supreme courts, defeated legal censorship, and opened American life to new and dangerous currents of freedom. But Rosset's public fight against hypocrisy and injustice is inextricable from his tumultuous personal life.

A look at the life and work of American publisher Barney Rosset, who struggled to bring controversial works like 'Tropic of Cancer' and 'Naked Lunch' to publication.