Ronald K.L. Collins is Harold S. Shefelman Scholar, University of Washington School of Law. David M. Skover is Fredric C. Tausend Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law. Together they have coauthored several books including The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall and Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) and On Dissent: Its Meaning in America (Cambridge, 2013)

Lawyers Collins and Skover offer a mix of literary and legal history that builds steam as it arrives at its high point: the 1957 obscenity trial over the publication of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.” In the early chapters, the authors offer background on Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the Sorbonne PhD who opened City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco in 1953 and became a strong supporter of beat literature. They trace, too, Ginsberg’s composition of “Howl” and his relationship with Ferlinghetti, a daring but careful publisher of his work. The authors are at their strongest describing the trial, clearly explaining the legal issues at stake. . . . .[An] intriguing epilogue on Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti’s legacy, and an appendix that for the first time publishes the judge’s full opinion in The People v. Ferlinghetti, add value to a worthwhile effort.

Ronald K.L. Collins is Harold S. Shefelman Scholar, University of Washington School of Law. David M. Skover is Fredric C. Tausend Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law. Together they have coauthored several books including The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall and Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) and On Dissent: Its Meaning in America (Cambridge, 2013)

Lawyers Collins and Skover offer a mix of literary and legal history that builds steam as it arrives at its high point: the 1957 obscenity trial over the publication of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.” In the early chapters, the authors offer background on Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the Sorbonne PhD who opened City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco in 1953 and became a strong supporter of beat literature. They trace, too, Ginsberg’s composition of “Howl” and his relationship with Ferlinghetti, a daring but careful publisher of his work. The authors are at their strongest describing the trial, clearly explaining the legal issues at stake. . . . .[An] intriguing epilogue on Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti’s legacy, and an appendix that for the first time publishes the judge’s full opinion in The People v. Ferlinghetti, add value to a worthwhile effort.

Ronald K.L. Collins is Harold S. Shefelman Scholar, University of Washington School of Law. David M. Skover is Fredric C. Tausend Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law. Together they have coauthored several books including The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall and Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002) and On Dissent: Its Meaning in America (Cambridge, 2013)

Lawyers Collins and Skover offer a mix of literary and legal history that builds steam as it arrives at its high point: the 1957 obscenity trial over the publication of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.” In the early chapters, the authors offer background on Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the Sorbonne PhD who opened City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco in 1953 and became a strong supporter of beat literature. They trace, too, Ginsberg’s composition of “Howl” and his relationship with Ferlinghetti, a daring but careful publisher of his work. The authors are at their strongest describing the trial, clearly explaining the legal issues at stake. . . . .[An] intriguing epilogue on Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti’s legacy, and an appendix that for the first time publishes the judge’s full opinion in The People v. Ferlinghetti, add value to a worthwhile effort.