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But Paladin says Hit Man is being maligned unfairly, because it was written at least partly with tongue in cheek. "I have trouble taking the book seriously," says Thomas Kelley, lawyer for the publishing house. He argues that the book contains many "clearly absurd things," like its advice that hit men be careful not to remove their gloves--and leave fingerprints--if they help themselves to snacks in the victim's refrigerator. And Kelley says the book cover's boast that Feral is a hit man and a "lethal weapon aimed at the enemy of the one who pays him" misstates the author's credentials. The real author is a female, he says, and "I'm surely convinced she's never hurt a soul."
Some civil libertarians are worried that the appeals court ruling will lead to lawsuits against writers and publishers. Novels like The Godfather, works of history like The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and even TV news shows contain graphic descriptions of murder, notes University of Illinois law professor Ronald Rotunda. "I wouldn't be surprised if energetic prosecutors in less enlightened jurisdictions take advantage of this decision." But Floyd Abrams, a lawyer who often defends the media, doubts the ruling can be applied much beyond manuals on how to kill. "This is a book," says Abrams, "that tests anyone's fidelity to the First Amendment."
--With reporting by Melissa August/Washington