A review by ferris_mx
Thy Neighbor's Wife by Gay Talese
5.0
Based on the title, I expected this book to be about adultery. I wouldn't say that is accurate at all. A fascinating look at the ongoing struggle between puritans and censors, and those who want free literary and sexual expression. We all know about the sexual liberation of the 60s, and the book is largely about that period. I did not know about the struggle for freedom going back to the early 1800s, at least - and often sponsored by religious renegades. Nor did I accurately recall the repressive boomerang of the Nixon years, and that actually gave me hope in this dark time.
But mainly, and critically, the freedom of speech we take for granted today has not existed since the Bill of Rights. Our fellow citizens have fought for our freedom of expression over the intervening centuries, tooth and claw, at personal expense including imprisonment. We can't afford to continue to take it for granted.
But mainly, and critically, the freedom of speech we take for granted today has not existed since the Bill of Rights. Our fellow citizens have fought for our freedom of expression over the intervening centuries, tooth and claw, at personal expense including imprisonment. We can't afford to continue to take it for granted.