100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature

by Nicholas J. Karolides, Dawn B. Sova, Margaret Bald

The one volume abridgement of the Banned book series highlights books banned for political, religious, sexual, and social reasons

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Reference, Books About Books, Literature, Politics, Literary Criticism

406 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

Reviews

[Valeriu Gherghel · Rating 3 out of 5]

O istorie a cenzurii, desigur. Volumul cuprinde 4 liste de cărți. Unele scrieri au fost interzise (și uneori distruse) - sugerează autorii - din patru pricini:

a) politice (John Milton, Areopagitica, Boris Pasternak, Doctor Jivago etc);
b) religioase (Martin Luther, Cele 95 de teze, Montaigne,Eseuri, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Suferințele tînărului Werther etc.);
c) erotice (Ovidius, Ars amatoria , ***, 1001 de nopți, Boccaccio Decameronul , Flaubert, Doamna Bovary, Nabokov, Lolita etc.);
d) sociale (Benjamin Franklin, Autobiografia, Aldous Huxley, Minunata lume nouă, Ken Kesey, Zbor deasupra unui cuib de cuci etc.)

Evident, o carte poate fi interzisă din mai multe motive. În România, romanul Zbor deasupra unui cuib de cuci a fost citit în primul rînd politic. O carte cu tematică erotică (Lolita, să zicem) atrage nu doar o anatemă socială, dar și una politică, dar și una religioasă etc. Și, pînă la urmă, cenzura poate fi exercitată doar de Stat și de Biserică (în alianță cu Statul).

Din păcate, autorii cărții nu se referă și la cărțile distruse la sfîrșitul Antichității: Celsus, Cuvîntul adevărat; Arius, Thalia; Iulian Apostatul, Contra creștinilor; Porphyrios, Împotriva creștinilor ; Origen, mai multe cărți (cîteva s-au păstrat numai în traducerea latină a lui Rufinus și Ieronim).

Într-un cuvînt, o carte utilă pentru cel interesat de istoria lecturii. Traducerea românească (realizată de Daniel Duma, Paralela 45, 2007) mai poate fi găsită doar pe la anticari.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

i learned about 100 books i needed to read.

[Floor tussendeboeken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me a while to get through it, but it's quite interesting to read the reasons why a particular book is censored or even banned. Some parts were more interesting than others, but I definetely have found some new titles that I'm interested in after learning about them in this book. Also when I felt interested in a book, I didn't read the whole summary, because it basically gives away all that happens in the book and I don't want to know everything before going in a book.

Anyways, this was definitely worth it and I want to thank my boyfriend for borrowing it from the uni library for me :)

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I gathered from this book:

1. Governments ban books when you say negative things about them.

2. Local groups get books banned because they enjoy living in the denial that high school kids don't swear and have never heard any swearing before. And they can't handle reading about sex. Right. Yeah.

[William Schram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Censorship is an anathema to me. It is interesting to see the lengths that people will go to in order to prevent others from having a voice. I could have sworn that I had read this book before, but apparently not. It was not listed in my books at all at the very least. So this book discusses the history of books that have been censored for four overarching reasons. They have been censored for political, religious, sexual, and social grounds. So 100 Banned Books was written in 1999. There might have been some more censored books that it missed due to being over 20 years old and due to it only covering 100 books.

Now I can understand the banning of some books on the grounds that people have thin skin and hurt feelings, but some of these are ridiculous to me. Other books make me sick, but I suppose people should have the ability to express their opinions however maligned they may be. One such book is The Hoax of the Twentieth Century, where author Arthur R Butz shows himself to be a Holocaust Truther. That is the sort of book that I can see to be pretty despicable, but this leads to a slippery slope. I can’t impose my will on others in a manner that would impugn their own free will. So in that case, I just won’t read it at all.

While this book has shown me a few more books to read, it has also shown me books to avoid. Of the books on this list, I have heard of ninety-one out of one hundred. I have actually read eighteen out of one hundred. If I were grading myself, I would get a terrible grade. This has shown me that the true enemy of education and literacy is a person who feels they are doing the right thing. Either that or they are simply misinformed. As Fahrenheit 451 mentions; “If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war.”

So this book is really good. It is a great entryway to more books that people find disagreeable for some reason or another.

[Sarai · Rating 2 out of 5]

From Library Journal
Scheduled for publication during Banned Books Week (September 25, 1999-October 2, 1999), this reference gives extensive insight into titles that historically have faced a high rate of censorship, both in the United States and abroad. The text is arranged in four sections, with titles divided by the main grounds - political, religious, sexual, and social -for censorship. Introductory notes for each section define what the book's authors mean by that type of suppression and summarize its history. Each title is identified by author, date and place of original publication, publisher, and literary form, and each entry includes a comprehensive summary of the text. These summaries are followed by a full censorship history and suggested "Further Readings" sections directing readers to accessible sources of additional information. By limiting the texts under consideration to 100, the authors are able to provide highly detailed accounts of each title's censorship history in what is surely the most exhaustive single-volume reference available. A valuable tool for those seeking information on particular banned books or on censorship in general; recommended for public and academic libraries.

I have to say, I was disappointed in this book. What an opportunity to advertise interesting works of fiction and nonfiction! Instead, this was dry and kind of dull reading. It would be a good reference if writing a school paper, but the censorship histories consisted mostly of lawsuit descriptions, including lots of legal lingo that was difficult to slog through. I did not finish the book.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to see what books were banned and why. I totally censored books for my children when they were in grade school and remember writing teachers about the content of some of the books. But by the time they were in Jr Hi, I gave them free rein. If they rejected a book for any reason, I told them that they should talk to the teacher and get a different book.

I would have liked this book more if they didn't quote from said books about why they were banned. I don't want to read that slop! Definitely taking a chunk of these off of my 'to read' list.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

celebrate freedom and read a banned book!
you can look up lists of books banned on political, religious. sexual and social grounds. you'll learn the whens, wheres and whys and get a description of the book. i figure if it caused enough "ruckus" and havoc to be banned, it must be worth reading!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provided a good summary of each book and its censorship history. However, as I progressed through the book, the summaries and histories got shorter and shorter. I think the author got sick of writing this book.

[Anna Astafyeva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice content to consume instead of cats videos on Instagram. Some facts and books were unexpected to see as censored before.

[Karen Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gives a nice overview of banned books and the history of censorship.

[ForestGardenGal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very informative reference-type book. It is not simply a list; each book listed has a not only a brief description of the book, but a history of the suppression treatment of each book, describing in detail the who, when, where, and why of each instance of attempted suppression, unauthorized alteration, or censorship.

Divided into four sections by category:
·Books suppressed on political grounds
·Books suppressed on religious grounds
·Books suppressed on sexual grounds
·Books suppressed on social grounds

Definitely useful for learning about the history of censorship and about why books were troublesome to certain groups, individuals or governments.

Note: See my Goodreads bookshelf tags named after the above four categories for the names of the books described in this book.

[Ania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Przeczytałam dla usystematyzowania wiedzy. Czasami czytało się z ciekawością innym razem ze znużeniem. Wiele opisywanych książek miało ten sam bądź podobny "rodowód zakazania". Wiele można się przy tym dowiedzieć o czasach, w których dany tytuł był na indeksie. o obyczajach i ludzkich motywacjach, a przy tym zdać sobie sprawę jak niewiele trzeba, aby książkę uznać za zakazaną, a "za chwilę" nagradzać za nią autora.Jedyne co mnie drażniło to obszerne streszczenia, które niewiele dają, jeśli ktoś nie czytał konkretnego utworu.
Polecam bibliotekarzom, polonistom i miłośnikom literatury

[Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the most comprehensive compendium of banned books, this collects some (and I use some very liberally here) of the most famous banned books together and separates them according to four categories. There’s not a cohesive set of banned books within, and some of them are far less necessary to include than others. Just a very mediocre collection that needs some updating- but reminded me of a lot of classics I need to return to at some point.

[Rick Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good books have been censored over the years. Some I have no interest in but many I have read or now want to read.

It would be interesting to get more explanation of the book banners' and burners' justifications. Why do they feel that they have the need and the right to control other peoples' reading and thinking?

[A.L. Bellettiere · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe a few entries were interesting, especially Stephen King's Cujo, amongst other things but otherwise, from the moment I started to read, my attention started to wain and my energy drifted away from me. The book tries to be interested but it's stick more in facts mode.

[Eric Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though a bit outdated and dry in delivery, I have to give this four stars for its research and its rigorous promotion of free speech. It highlights the fact that even objective truths are superficially understood unless tested by questions of logic and reason.

[Amber Scaife · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mix of books here, and the write-ups about how and why they were banned were nicely done.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read. The synopses of all the books were really helpful. It was a good way to find out what some commonly named books were about. The banning histories were also interesting. As another reader stated all these parent groups who obviously haven't listened to their children in awhile.

[Anna]

**Not for lack of interest - I just had to return it to the library**

Because, unfortunately, reading a work of fiction can still be a political act even in supposedly 'advanced' cultures.

I so hope future generations will look back at this and wonder how the hell we could go along with this.

[Hey_jude · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting find on censorship and details various censorship history for each book. Categorized into areas that the book was banned on such as political and social reasons, sexual reasons and violence. Very interesting.

[Sharon Younkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's interesting to see the various books that have been banned, some of which are quite surprising (no spoilers here). The synopses are quite good, but of course not as good as reading the books themselves. The book makes for a great reading list.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about books that have been banned at one time or other for political, religious, sexual or social reasons. Amazing what some people will do to prevent access to ideas they do not agree with. A lot of this is still happening in current times.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read the books instead.

[Erin]

oohh, right up my alley

[Alyaaf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing how many "modern" books have been on banned lists, even here!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW, I am amazed at the books that have been banned, especially the ones in my lifetime.

[poppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource for finding out more about the reasons behind commonly banned/challenged books. Great for reading cover to cover, and also great for reference.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it - although some of the books I knew about, I did make a list of other's I would like to read.

[Kipi (the academic stitcher) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to see why certain books were banned. Most were banned at the local/school level which became a little monotonous, but still an interesting read.