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Fascinating and eminently readable, Censoring Sex traces the paradoxical history of America's simultaneous obsession with, and fear of, that 'great and mysterious motive force in human life' human sexuality.--Marjorie Heins

[A]n engaging scholarly study as well as something of a witty rejoinder to those who would seek to impose their own personal values on the creativity of others. The combination of accessible writing and solid research make it equally useful for intellectual pursuits and weekend reading. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries. * Library Journal * Fascinating and eminently readable, Censoring Sex traces the paradoxical history of America's simultaneous obsession with, and fear of, that 'great and mysterious motive force in human life'—human sexuality. -- Marjorie Heins, author of Not in Front of the Children: Indecency, Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth By revisiting large and small instances of censorship, Semonche's history finds new levels of detail in cases that are usually glossed over. Moral concerns over representations of sexuality and gender shaped the evolution of American media, and Censoring Sex traces them with both care and flair. -- Joseph W. Slade, Director of Graduate Studies University of Ohio-Athens, and author of Pornography in America: A Reference Handbook Semonche's book, with its many stories and succinct discussion of court cases, besides being an important and highly readable history of sex and censorship, is a must for anyone interested in free speech and the First Amendment. * Durham Sun-Herald * Historian Semonche takes readers on a fascinating trip....Recommended. * CHOICE, May 2008 * Censoring Sex is a wide-ranging survey of the struggle between contrary needs of human expression. While we must talk about sex we also are compelled to condemn sex as dirty, harmful to children, and unworthy of representation in art, literature, or film. The specific controversies presented in this book, deftly integrated in the overarching story of changing First Amendment law, are as informative as they are entertaining. The lines of permissibility we draw today are undoubtedly more liberal than in the 19th century and new technologies have made small town community values a thing of the past. However, as Semonche so clearly shows, the terms of the debate over sexual representation persist almost unchanged. For readers who think that it is perhaps time for a fresh view, Censoring Sex will be an informative read. -- Svetlana Mintcheva, Director of the Arts Program at the National Coalition Against Censorship and editor of <I>Censoring Culture: Contemporary Threa

[A]n engaging scholarly study as well as something of a witty rejoinder to those who would seek to impose their own personal values on the creativity of others. The combination of accessible writing and solid research make it equally useful for intellectual pursuits and weekend reading. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries. Library Journal Fascinating and eminently readable, Censoring Sex traces the paradoxical history of America's simultaneous obsession with, and fear of, that 'great and mysterious motive force in human life'-human sexuality. -- Marjorie Heins, author of Not in Front of the Children: Indecency, Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth By revisiting large and small instances of censorship, Semonche's history finds new levels of detail in cases that are usually glossed over. Moral concerns over representations of sexuality and gender shaped the evolution of American media, and Censoring Sex traces them with both care and flair. -- Joseph W. Slade, Director of Graduate Studies University of Ohio-Athens, and author of Pornography in America: A Reference Handbook Semonche's book, with its many stories and succinct discussion of court cases, besides being an important and highly readable history of sex and censorship, is a must for anyone interested in free speech and the First Amendment. Durham Sun-Herald Historian Semonche takes readers on a fascinating trip...Recommended. CHOICE, May 2008 Censoring Sex is a wide-ranging survey of the struggle between contrary needs of human expression. While we must talk about sex we also are compelled to condemn sex as dirty, harmful to children, and unworthy of representation in art, literature, or film. The specific controversies presented in this book, deftly integrated in the overarching story of changing First Amendment law, are as informative as they are entertaining. The lines of permissibility we draw today are undoubtedly more liberal than in the 19th century and new technologies have made small town community values a thing of the past. However, as Semonche so clearly shows, the terms of the debate over sexual representation persist almost unchanged. For readers who think that it is perhaps time for a fresh view, Censoring Sex will be an informative read. -- Svetlana Mintcheva, Director of the Arts Program at the National Coalition Against Censorship and editor of Censoring Culture: Contemporary Threa

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John E. Semonche is professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. An authority on American constitutional and legal history, he is the author of numerous articles and books, including Keeping the Faith: A Cultural History of the U.S. Supreme Court and Religion and Constitutional Government in the United States.

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