The Trials of Lenny Bruce (10th Anniverary Edition–Enhanced): The Fall and Rise of an American Icon

Ronald K. L. Collins · David M. Skover

Oct 2012 · Top Five Books LLC

About this ebook

When it first came out in 2002, The Trials of Lenny Bruce not only established itself as the definitive work on Lenny Bruce's free speech trials, it led to the late comedian's posthumous pardon for his conviction on obscenity charges in New York by then-governor George Pataki.

Originally packaged in hardcover with an audio CD, this 10th Anniversary enhanced ebook edition includes embedded audio from Lenny Bruce’s most controversial performances, as well as exclusive author interviews with the colleagues, friends, and lawyers who defended him—including George Carlin, Hugh Hefner, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Albert Bendich. Also included in the enhanced ebook edition are archival audio clips secretly recorded during Lenny's New York obscenity trial.

The Trials of Lenny Bruce is an important document of the free speech battles of an icon of American comedy who, by speaking his mind and fighting the good fight, paved the way for every standup comedian, satirist, and social critic who followed him.

About the author

Ron Collins and David Skover have been writing together for almost three decades. In addition to The Trials of Lenny Bruce, they have also coauthored three other books together—The Death of Discourse (1996), On Dissent (2013), and MANIA (2013).

Ron, who grew up in Southern California and teaches at the University of Washington Law School, lives in Bethesda, Maryland. David, who grew up in Wisconsin and teaches at Seattle University Law School, lives in Seattle. Both have written numerous scholarly articles (often together) in journals such as the Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, and in the Supreme Court Review.