An Unseemly Man: My Life as a Pornographer, Pundit, and Social Outcast

by Larry Flynt, Kenneth Ross

The publisher of "Hustler" magazine recounts his professional and personal career, the shooting that left him severely injured, and his courtroom struggles to secure his First Amendment rights

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Sexuality

265 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

American Pornographer and Free Speech activist. Most known for publishing Hustler magazine.

Flynt has had several legal battles involving the First Amendment, and has run for public office a number of times.

He ran for president in 1984. He has bipolar disorder and is paralyzed from the waist down due to injuries sustained from an assassination attempt by an radical feminist.

Reviews

[Christi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not like Larry Flynt. No matter how much I try not to judge, I find him arrogant, selfish, and downright loony at times. But, BUT, his work on protecting our freedom of speech is impressive. And as the afterword states, if you don't admire him, "Larry Flynt would be the first to defend your right to criticize him." Well said.

[Christopher Staley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I expected. A fast read, and funny. I thought his points about how the lawsuits agaist him were as much about class as they were about obscenity were well made.

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a hard life!

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, funny, honest. Only disappointment was what wasn't in the book that had been in the movie. Otherwise, quite good

[Jomihi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larry Flynt was clearly driven to accomplish or have successes far beyond what is considered normal, in spite of his humble beginnings; this is the story of someone building a fortune from nothing; it’s clear that he had one hell of a good business sense.

As driven as he was to succeed at business, apparently he was also driven to expose as much hypocrisy in the world as possible, to offend as many people as possible, and also to test freedom of speech laws as much as possible. Unfortunately, as usual he succeeded; he did offend and was hated by many people, including a stranger who shot him, costing him the use of his legs and putting him in extreme pain for years.

He is the Socrates of our time; asking us whether there could be more to life than being pious hypocrites.

Do I recommend this book? It is a true story of life, business, human nature, and philosophy. It should be required reading for everyone who wants a high school diploma.

[Sart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Super short and very one sided portrait. I love the topic, but the lack of perspective was tough. Slightly helpful for legal scholars looking into his cases to get context.

I meet Larry at a law school talk on the SCOTUS case, his personal words were much more direct and biting of the hypocrisy in the legal systems. The book is not even a accurate of his thoughts on how law is missed used.

Very weak book over all.

[Gabriella]

DNF. Abridged audiobook on Scribd. Listened to half then had to quit. I found it boring, business-driven but with questionable ethics, and slimey in parts (when the narrator start talking about the origins of the original Hustler club...how he named it, who he hired and what was expected of them, and especially, why men came there...ugh.)

[Daniel Muleady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read about the Falwell v. Flynt court case. However, yes, obviously this feels very biased... I haven't seen "The People vs. Larry Flynt" (although, I plan to now), but I'd expect it to have that same blatant pro-Larry sentiment. And also, yes, this does feel ghostwritten which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I just feel about one layer removed from the memoir, that's all.

[Donna Apperson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. He was a scumbag and was very much aware of that. But the first amendment has been defined for satire, and we've all benefited from his scumbaggery. No big surprises other than his military history, which was pretty cool to learn about.

[Stacy Renae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read but not for the prude. Colorful wild stories

[Syam · Rating 5 out of 5]

blah blah - another social network site

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

used audiobook; gift from Daniel, 12/13.

[Alexander Fedyunin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing life of so crazy but so result's oriented man!

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Hustler!