Customer Reviews

The Government Vs. Erotica: The Siege of Adam & Eve

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As timely as tonight's evening news. An examination of what Ashcroft-type first amendment views can do to the individual, free enterprise and the very fabric of society. Harvey's insightful views on everything from organized religion, big government, pornography, to the corporate soul will interest a diverse group of readers including political pundits, free speech advocates, students and corporate players.

This is not some passive academic examination. Instead it is the first hand account of an entrepreneur whose livelihood, beliefs and very right to freedom are challenged by an attempted modern day witch burning.

All the read of a super thriller. Plus the reality of the governments ability to unleash their unlimited resources and threats of long prison sentences with the scantiest evidence. Few of us have the spiritual, physical, fiscal, emotional or intellectual stamina to stand up for what is right under those conditions. Harvey did it and won...making him an unlikely American folk hero.

An extraordinary insight into the possible American landscape when we surrender our liberty to self-appointed/government appointed (and anointed) arbiters of the public taste.

Intriguing, insightful, and imperative!

"The threat of open tyranny is remote and unlikely for us in America. Far more dangerous is the slow erosion of our liberties, particularly freedom of speech and of thought, by fervent moralists who believe they are 'improving' us." So Philip D. Harvey writes, and he has often been in a position to feel the pressure from religious moralists. Harvey is the president of Adam and Eve, a North Carolina firm that started thirty years ago selling condoms by mail, and then branched into erotica and sex toys. In 1986, thirty-seven law enforcement agents, some with firearms, representing county sheriffs, state officials from North Carolina (and from Utah), and federal inspectors, descended on Harvey's firm, shut it down, and began interrogating employees. Harvey himself wasn't there, but he heard by phone about the raid as it progressed. What came of the raid was an eight year struggle against the government. Harvey tells the story of the struggle, an inspiring David-and-Goliath legal fight, in _The Government Vs. Erotica: The Siege of Adam & Eve_ (Prometheus Books), and it is a page turner that I found I had to skip sleep to finish.

In his legal battles, Harvey saw himself as dealing with those steeped in religious moralism: "...we were dealing with people for whom sexual pleasure, unless specifically linked in some way to procreation, was wrong, and the sale of sexually stimulating items could therefore not be permitted..." His account of the legal battle is detailed and fascinating. The North Carolina jury ruled him not guilty, but that was only the start. The Federal government, realizing that the sort of tapes Adam and Eve sold were overwhelmingly popular but were not legally obscene, developed a heinous plan to put out of business pornographers who dealt in non-obscene (and therefore legally protected) material. It would financially annihilate such firms by simultaneously prosecuting them (even when such prosecutions could not legally succeed) in several different parts of the country, over and over. The Feds had lots of money, the firms relatively little, and the aim would be simply to bankrupt legal businesses whose wares offended government agents. The extensive description of his the legal strategies is given with good humor, and Harvey also obviously enjoys telling readers about his philosophy of libertarianism and about how wrong the religious moralists are. This is a splendid, entertaining book about the rights of citizens and the eagerness of moralists with the "right" view to impose that view upon others. It is a ringing defense of the First Amendment, surely, but it is also a grim reminder that the First Amendment cannot be taken for granted, but must forever be defended against the zealous.

I started reading this book because a friend insisted. I finished it because I couldn't put it down. I laughed, became mesmerized, got angry and celebrated with tears of joy Phil Harvey's triumph in court. George Washington may have been the father of this country but it is courageous individuals who are committed to the Constitution even when that commitment gets difficult or even unpopular, like Phil Harvey, that keep it great. It's worth reading this book just to be reminded of that fact.

Anyone who is looking for a compelling tale with heroes and villains, a superb overview of First Amendment issues and/or just a great and easy read should read this book. Anyone who thinks the freedom we enjoy is precious should read this immediately and then send a Thank You to Phil Harvey.

This is an important book. Written not by a reporter or bystander but by the person who had most to lose, who risked jail and financial ruin to defy the government's harsh and illegal attempt to destroy his small business. Philip Harvey's story is a terrifying one in many ways, a particularly appropriate reminder, especially now, that our first amendment rights are under clear and constant danger when big government does not approve of our actions, legal though they may be.

We learn that while it would have been easier to capitulate, Harvey refused to accept that alternative, and the resulting court battles are described with passion and insight.

Read this book. You will be by turns outraged and inspired. Phil Harvey has done us all a service with this fascinating story of right vs might.

What the federal government did to Phil Harvey and his company Adam & Eve in 1986 was scary...chilling...intimidating. And that's exactly what it was meant to be.

The feds wanted to put the sexual genie back in the bottle, and they were perfectly willing to use strong-arm tactics to achieve their aim. Adam & Eve, located in their backyard, Carrboro, North Carolina, was a seemingly perfect target, a thriving mail-order seller of condoms, sex toys and videos. So on May 29, 1986, 37 agents of the United States Department, ignoring local law enforcement, raided the office and warehouse of Adam & Eve.

Headed by Edwin Meese, Ronald Reagan's attorney general, the Justice Department believed it was its duty to prevent Adam & Eve from providing products that enhance and add enjoyment to sexuality.

It took eight years of fighting and spending by Phil Harvey and his legal team to fend off the federal pinch.

The Government Vs. Erotica is that story. A combination horror story, thriller and memoir, it deserves to be read far and wide because it's a very clear tale about the abuse of power in the name of morality. It's a story about what happens when the self-righteous gain control of the institutions of authority and use them for to play political hardball. It's about fundamentalist fanaticism perpetrated in the name of goodness.

Know a lawyer, journalist, legislator, teacher or minister? Or someone studying to be one of those things. Give them this book. It's about how government should not act. And it's about the toll it takes on people's lives to live through wrong-headed intimidation tactics.

What the Department of Justice did as recounted in this book can happen again, and is perhaps even more likely with the ultra-conservative Ashcroft at the reigns. This book relates how a religiously motivated anti-sex crusade, funded with government money, trampled on the Constitutional rights of U.S. citizens with total disregard. They were on a religious crusade to stamp out erotica, and the Constitution was simply something to be ignored or worked around. Harvey is a pro-sex family man without any of the seediness of the First Ammendment figures such as Flynt. He is the good guy in this story. The Publisher's Weekly review, calling Harvey's defense of adult material as unconvincing, simply refelects their own anti-sex bias. Harvey's arguments are cogent and intelligent and make sense to anyone who does not equate sex with morbid shame.

I have been a distributor for Temptations Parties by Adam & Eve for seven years. Contrary to many peoples opinions, I work for one of the most honorable groups of people I've ever known. This book provides a first hand account of a modern day witch hunt. The Reagan/Meese years were very dark days for adult American's personal freedoms. We should all realize and be greatful for Phil Harvey's standing up for our personal freedoms. He spent millions of dollars and fought a fight most could never imagine waging. In the end Edwin Meese's commission, although heavily biased, could not find any evidence that adult products caused anyone any harm. I think an added bonus to reading this book is also that those of us who are working to make sexuality a more positive aspect of life are not all "sleezy pornographers". Phil Harvey started his company with extremely honorable and selfless intentions. In the beginning he wanted to sell condoms through mailorder to fund nonmedical family planning in poor countries. At the time, it was illegal in the US to purchase condoms via the mail. He made this possible. Much of his profits from Phil Harvey Enterprises mail-order sales goes to support family planning and AIDS prevention programs in countries like Ethiopia, India, China and Vietnam. He is a great American, and I would love it if high school kids were made aware of this book. It is a great modern example of an individual standing up for their rights. David vs. Galiath