by Terry Southern

Maxwell Kenton's bawdy masterpiece, first published by the Olympia Press in 1958 and the subject of innumerable lawsuits, piracies and bad film adaptations since, is a modern take on Candide (from authors Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg in tandem). Candy Christian, a beautiful girl who just happened to be born on Valentine's Day, writes a paper on Contemporary Human Love for her instructor, Professor Mephesto, saying that 'to give of oneself--fully--is not merely a duty prescribed by an outmoded superstition, it is a beautiful and thrilling privilege.