کتاب‌های ممنوع: سرگذشت کتاب‌های ممنوع‌شده به دلایل اجتماعی در امریکا و جهان

Banned Books

by Dawn B. Sova, طاهره رضایی (Translator), محسن حنیف (Translator)

Throughout history, tyrants, totalitarian states, church institutions, and democratic governments alike have banned books that challenged their assumptions or questioned their authority. Even today, attempts by school boards, local governments, and religious fanatics to restrict our freedom to read continue.The four-volume Banned Books collection focuses on more than 400 works that have been censored for their political, social, religious, or erotic content -- in the United States and around the world -- from biblical times to the present day.

Works have been chosen for their literary or historical significance, including their role in the history of censorship. Most are read in middle- and high-school curricula as well as in university courses; some have been the focus of major national or international campaigns; and all were either written in English or are available in English translations.

Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds discusses writings that have been banned over the centuries because they offended or merely ignored official truths; challenged widely held assumptions; or contained ideas or language unacceptable to a state, religious institution, or private moral watchdog.

Works covered include:
-- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
-- The adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
-- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
-- As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner
-- Being There, Jerzy Kosinski
-- Camille, Alexandre Dumas, Jr.
-- The Color Purple, Alice Walker
-- Deliverance, James Dickey
-- East of Eden, John Steinbeck
-- Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
-- A Farewell to Arms, ErnestHemingway
-- Gargantua and Pantagruel, Francois Rabelais
-- Howl and Other Poems, Allen Ginsberg
-- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
-- Jaws, Peter Benchley
-- Junky, William S. Burroughs
-- Of Time and the River, Thomas Wolfe
-- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
-- The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
-- Soul on Ice, Eldridge Cleaver
-- Strange Fruit, Lillian Smith.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction

454 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Howard Gibbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book, that gives the reader/researcher a rather disturbing insight into what people (primarily in the United States) are offended by. I'm not going to pretend to say I understand the rather silly objections that led to some of these bans (most luckily were temporary), but in some cases it was rather humorous to say the least.

A total of 125 books are examined in this book. A short summary of the contents of each book is given, and then the censorship history is examined. Most of the objections seemed to come from parents who were offended when their children were assigned books to read, but a few stemmed from other sources as well.

There are three other books in this series that deal with Political, religious, and sexual censorship and I am looking forward to reading those as well. They were all written in 2011, and I believe it is time to update them with new editions.

[Julene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds: Banned Books, is a compilation of books in alphabetical order that have at some place and time been banned. For each book there is a summary of the book and a record of the charges against it, the who, the where, and the results. I enjoyed reading summaries on books I'd read in the past, especially since I often forget details given my literary amnesia. Books like: "Anne Frank," "Another Country," "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin," "The Autobiography of Malcolm X," "The Bell Jar," "Beloved," "Catch-22," the list goes on like this for over 400 pages. This is the third edition, first published in 1998 by Dawn B. Sova.

And there there are similar books for literature suppressed on religious, political, and sexual grounds. We are in a war to stop the censoring of books. The grand scale of the attempt to ban books is shocking and disturbing. If you love books please be active against this.

[Stephanie LGW · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really hate any reasoning behind banning books, and I feel like you can find an alternative to your kid reading a book you don't approve of without needing to remove them entirely from the curriculum. But the idea that we shouldn't give kids books that are too depressing or dark or real? That's just setting kids up for failure. And the idea that a book that involved homosexuality, "non-traditional" families, or relationships outside the boundaries of marriage will destroy "traditional" values? What exactly are "traditional" values anyway? Maybe if we stopped creating little molds for everyone to fit into, maybe, just MAYBE, society wouldn't be so fractured. And if we can learn a little something about a different person from a book? So be it! So, to the National Organization for Decent Literature, Concerned Citizens and Taxpayers for Decent Books, the Pope, and everyone else who felt that the books in this volume offended their delicate sensibilities (most of whom are probably dead or disassembled or have moved on, I hope)? SHUT UP! No one is forcing you to read these books. (And they freakin' tried to ban The Fragile Flag for political reasons? OMG!!! I can't even....Glkjsdpoaheohaer!)