Barney Rosset Never Backed Down

On the Media

• Episode: Barney Rosset Never Backed Down
• Website: On the Media
• Feed URL: http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia
• Duration: 00:13:09
• Published: 2022-02-02 18:00

In 1951, Grove Press was a tiny, almost-defunct independent publisher, with just three titles in its catalog, including Herman Melville’s The Confidence Man. But then Barney Rosset took over and, with a few choice books, helped push America past its Puritanical roots and into the sexual revolution. He died in 2012 and we are re-airing this interview I did with him many years back, to set up this week’s show in which we’ll be trying to unpack the latest round of book banning in America.