Pornography and the Law

by Drs. Eberhard and Phyllis Kronhausen

Bell Publishing Company, New York. 1959 (New Revised Edition). Hard cover in dust jacket. Bright pink boards. 335 pages. Introduction by Theodor Reik. This book follows hot on the heels of the famous "Lady Chatterley's Lover" case (Grove Press vs Robert K. Christenberry, Postmaster of the City of New York). The Doctors Kronhausen were "expert witnesses" in various court cases preceding this one. Both were psychologists. As might be expected, they were extremely strong First Amendment Rights advocates, and they make their cases based on books that can only be described as "literary classics," but under the current (1959) atmosphere surrounding the publishing industry, might equally be described as "pornographic." There are many excerpts from famous "banned" books. Their conclusion: "Pornography" cannot be adequately defined with regards to the general public. I found it to be a little like preaching to the choir. Most probably, the only people that would buy the book would be strong First Amendment Rights advocates themselves.