Who's to Say What's Obscene?: Politics, Culture, and Comedy in America Today (Paperback)

~ (Author), Arianna Huffington (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Krassner (Confessions of a Raving Unconfined Nut), publisher of the Realist magazine, ruminates on American social and political hypocrisy in these essays that drift between current events and the heyday of the 1960s counterculture when the author dropped acid with the Merry Pranksters and palled around with Abbie Hoffman. Krassner weighs in on the last election cycle, the decriminalization of marijuana, and racism, with a stated (and largely achieved) goal of illuminating the gulf between what society says and what it does. The essays focus mostly on other humorists, and while he points out that today sarcasm passes for irony, he's far from a curmudgeon and praises such current comics as Sacha Baron Cohen and Sarah Silverman. Krassner says, It doesn't have to get a belly laugh, it just has to be valid criticism, which is the classic definition of satire, and while this book lingers too long on nostalgic remembrances and tackles serious issues too directly to get constant laughs, it makes a convincing case for the importance—and political necessity—of irreverence. (Aug.)
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Review

"All of the essays in Krassner's new book have been published before--in High Times, The Huffington Post, The Nation and The L.A. Weekly--but they all read as though they were written yesterday. That's because Krassner is always shocking, always provocative and for all his shenanigans, amazingly serious about the pornography of power and the obscenity of war (as well as Somali pirates and piracy on the web)." --Jonah Raskin, The Bohemian

"For readers unfamiliar with Krassner, his credentials--author, journalist, editor, talk show guest--seem fairly safe. But combine those with his role as a co-founder of the Yippie movement, his membership in Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, and his X-rated standup comedy routine and those initial credentials sound downright dangerous. Krassner is a satirist and he uses that skill here with his irreverent takes on the hypocrisies and absurdities in politics, comedy, and other aspects of American life. Offensive or funny? It's a matter of taste." --Book News

"Krassner (Confessions of a Raving Unconfined Nut), publisher of the Realist magazine, ruminates on American social and political hypocrisy in these essays that drift between current events and the heyday of the 1960s counterculture when the author dropped acid with the Merry Pranksters and palled around with Abbie Hoffman. Krassner weighs in on the last election cycle, the decriminalization of marijuana, and racism, with a stated (and largely achieved) goal of illuminating the gulf between what society says and what it does." --Publishers Weekly

"Krassner (Confessions of a Raving Unconfined Nut), publisher of the Realist magazine, ruminates on American social and political hypocrisy in these essays that drift between current events and the heyday of the 1960s counterculture when the author dropped acid with the Merry Pranksters and palled around with Abbie Hoffman. Krassner weighs in on the last election cycle, the decriminalization of marijuana, and racism, with a stated (and largely achieved) goal of illuminating the gulf between what society says and what it does. The essays focus mostly on other humorists, and while he points out that today 'sarcasm passes for irony,' he's far from a curmudgeon and praises such current comics as Sacha Baron Cohen and Sarah Silverman. Krassner says, 'It doesn't have to get a belly laugh, it just has to be valid criticism, which is the classic definition of satire,' and while this book lingers too long on nostalgic remembrances and tackles serious issues too directly to get constant laughs, it makes a convincing case for the importance--and political necessity--of irreverence." - Publisher's Weekly --Publisher's Weekly

Krassner lives in a world where Truth and Satire are swingers, changing partners so often you never know who belongs with whom. His latest collection of entertaining essays, which originally appeared in publications as diverse as High Times, The Nation, Adult Video NewsOnline and the Huffington Post (Arianna Huffington wrote the introduction), covers comedy, the drug war, the counterculture, dead icons and freedom. Don't miss the parts they left out of the Borat movie, the short history of racism in standup and the discussion of whether Moses might have been tripping when he parted the Red Sea. --The Playboy Nightstand

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: City Lights Publishers (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872865010
• ISBN-13: 978-0872865013
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #506,855 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book by a Remarkable Man, July 18, 2009

By	A. Ross - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Paul Krassner is one of the great iconic figures of the 1960's Counterculture. He was the creator of The Realist, probably the first underground newspaper. It was hysterically funny, totally irreverent, often vulgar, and always inspired.

These recent essays include contemporary humor, reflections on the counterculture, and comments about politics and culture.

Krassner has never lost his wit and his irreverence. He continues to show withering contempt for conventional political and cultural values, but he can express it all with outrageous humor.

Krassner's most famous and most inspired creation was the "Disneyland Memorial Orgy". At the time of Disney's death, Krassner commissioned a poster featuring all the major Disney characters engaged in obscene and perverted sexual acts. It was very funny. He tells the story of it in this book.

I loved it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Always Shocking and Always Honest, July 29, 2009

By	Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Krassner, Paul. "Who's to Say What's Obscene?: Politics, Culture, and Comedy in America Today", City Lights, 2009.

Always Shocking and Always Honest

Amos Lassen

Paul Krassner is a shocker probably because he has the nerve to say what many of us think. He is also always provocative and amazingly serious especially about those in power and their abuse of it and the obscenity of war. In these essays Krassner writes about the hypocrisy in American social and political life. He looks at the last elections, the decimalization of marijuana, racism and social class and he shows the distance between what we say and what we do. His view on comedians shows how we accept sarcasm for irony and he writes about how valid criticism is used to make us laugh. He is irreverent and satirical as he shows America's moral obscenity.
Krassner is a great writer and he is always funny and irreverent and vulgar and inspired. I love the way he views the contempt that many of us feel for what goes on today. We simply need more like him.
This is an important and timely book and we should listen and listen carefully to what he has to say. Krassner looks carefully at contemporary comedy as well as public figures, the counterculture, late night talk shows, sex and censorship and even though it is all very funny, there is great truth in what he says. He is wise, he is a realist and he tells it like it is and like it should be.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and Relevant, July 19, 2009

By	Stevanne Auerbach "Dr. Toy" (San Francisco CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An important new book that is timely for our current state of the Union written by satirist, Paul Krassner, funny stand up comedianm but more importantlym a wise man who is realist, who looks at society through the other side of the telescope to provide more insight, awareness and best of all humor. This book deals with issues from news and history as he provides engaging perspective--From politicians, poets, writers and others this book stirs up your mind with memories, views on provocative issues and clarifies vital first amendment rights and other related concerns.