,

Whether they've been banned or not, the ideas in these books have somehow or other been considered dangerous by somebody or other. This is not a "Best Of" list, this is just a list of books that somehow or another, contain dangerous ideas. This list may surprise you, the ideas contained in these books might not even seem dangerous now, but others are just as controversial then as they were today.
1

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3

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4.02 avg rating — 4,560,800 ratings
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3.80 avg rating — 3,898,016 ratings
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5

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4.01 avg rating — 122,154 ratings
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6

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4.45 avg rating — 318,705 ratings
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7

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3.97 avg rating — 2,842,804 ratings
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8

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4.16 avg rating — 27,734 ratings
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9

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3.99 avg rating — 887,364 ratings
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10

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4.03 avg rating — 1,405,136 ratings
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11

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4.03 avg rating — 1,618,841 ratings
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12

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3.71 avg rating — 71,842 ratings
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13

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3.18 avg rating — 43,646 ratings
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14

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3.94 avg rating — 2,525,880 ratings
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15

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4.30 avg rating — 53,862 ratings
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16

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3.88 avg rating — 428,188 ratings
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17

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4.35 avg rating — 1,510,967 ratings
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18

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4.06 avg rating — 378,796 ratings
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19

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4.24 avg rating — 24,549 ratings
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20

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3.69 avg rating — 407,182 ratings
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21

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4.35 avg rating — 9,925,102 ratings
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22

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3.92 avg rating — 326,535 ratings
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23

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4.13 avg rating — 119,311 ratings
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24

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4.37 avg rating — 476,994 ratings
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25

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4.09 avg rating — 266,420 ratings
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26

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4.42 avg rating — 113 ratings
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26

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4.30 avg rating — 197 ratings
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28

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4.27 avg rating — 48 ratings
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29

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3.61 avg rating — 3,511 ratings
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30

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4.36 avg rating — 157,414 ratings
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31

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3.87 avg rating — 38,393 ratings
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32

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3.78 avg rating — 154,773 ratings
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33

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3.88 avg rating — 1,013,374 ratings
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34

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4.01 avg rating — 298,102 ratings
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35

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4.67 avg rating — 6 ratings
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36

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3.66 avg rating — 33,495 ratings
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37

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3.92 avg rating — 11,192 ratings
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38

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 65 ratings
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39

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 65 ratings
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40

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4.32 avg rating — 414,024 ratings
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40

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4.17 avg rating — 249,452 ratings
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42

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4.36 avg rating — 4,161,388 ratings
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43

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3.74 avg rating — 7,362 ratings
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44

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3.82 avg rating — 359 ratings
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45

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3.84 avg rating — 4,551 ratings
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46

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4.09 avg rating — 31,416 ratings
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47

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4.30 avg rating — 174 ratings
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48

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3.75 avg rating — 16 ratings
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49

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4.19 avg rating — 15,707 ratings
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50

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3.76 avg rating — 50 ratings
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51

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3.57 avg rating — 6,050 ratings
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52

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3.95 avg rating — 256,028 ratings
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53

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3.89 avg rating — 25,386 ratings
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54

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4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings
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55

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4.14 avg rating — 37 ratings
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56

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3.71 avg rating — 14 ratings
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57

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3.96 avg rating — 1,750,159 ratings
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58

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4.33 avg rating — 33 ratings
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59

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3.65 avg rating — 2,347 ratings
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60

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3.78 avg rating — 36 ratings
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60

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3.15 avg rating — 2,952 ratings
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62

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 65 ratings
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63

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4.15 avg rating — 2,428,047 ratings
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64

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3.99 avg rating — 2,322 ratings
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65

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3.77 avg rating — 5,178 ratings
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66

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4.61 avg rating — 720 ratings
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67

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3.98 avg rating — 98 ratings
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68

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4.12 avg rating — 9,137 ratings
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69

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3.89 avg rating — 337,518 ratings
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70

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4.04 avg rating — 2,833 ratings
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71

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3.87 avg rating — 30,977 ratings
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72

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3.34 avg rating — 58 ratings
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73

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4.02 avg rating — 9,402 ratings
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74

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4.17 avg rating — 1,119 ratings
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75

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4.12 avg rating — 3,725,281 ratings
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76

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3.84 avg rating — 708,421 ratings
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77

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3.80 avg rating — 10 ratings
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78

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3.83 avg rating — 280,110 ratings
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79

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3.97 avg rating — 171 ratings
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80

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4.17 avg rating — 89 ratings
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81

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3.81 avg rating — 1,441 ratings
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82

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4.33 avg rating — 15 ratings
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83

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3.98 avg rating — 16,068 ratings
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84

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4.51 avg rating — 118 ratings
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85

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3.96 avg rating — 325,873 ratings
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86

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4.14 avg rating — 118,907 ratings
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87

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4.13 avg rating — 7,783 ratings
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88

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4.05 avg rating — 9,327 ratings
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89

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3.85 avg rating — 716 ratings
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90

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4.23 avg rating — 1,796 ratings
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91

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4.02 avg rating — 2,717 ratings
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91

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4.02 avg rating — 466 ratings
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93

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3.59 avg rating — 17,819 ratings
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94

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3.36 avg rating — 5,678 ratings
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95

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3.77 avg rating — 12,428 ratings
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96

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4.21 avg rating — 246 ratings
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97

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4.09 avg rating — 3,946 ratings
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98

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3.80 avg rating — 996 ratings
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99

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3.46 avg rating — 2,835 ratings
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100

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3.39 avg rating — 264 ratings
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160 books · 110 voters · list created August 15th, 2009 by Jacobmartin (votes) .
63 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


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Comments Showing 1-5 of 5 (5 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Jacobmartin (new)

Jacobmartin Ok, I've added seven of my favorite dangerous books, but there's so many more I haven't even mentioned! Please feel free to add more of your own!


message 2: by John (new)

John Burns No offence but this is a stupid idea for a list.

Exactly what is a dangerous idea? Surely any idea becomes dangerous when it's misapplied? An idea is only as dangerous as the idiots who get ahold of it.


message 3: by Jacobmartin (new)

Jacobmartin Killthepopular wrote: "No offence but this is a stupid idea for a list.

Exactly what is a dangerous idea? Surely any idea becomes dangerous when it's misapplied? An idea is only as dangerous as the idiots who get ahol..."


The idea came to me as there was a festival in Sydney called "The Festival of Dangerous Ideas" or something. The list here's not really meant to class ideas as so much completely dangerous, but a list of books that have been considered dangerous at some time or another. Whether or not they're dangerous now is not the issue, the issue is the history of ideas that may have been considered dangerous at some point.

If you can find any particularly good examples of literature that has both been called dangerous and has some literary implications for the world since, I suggest you add them to this list, which is far from complete. Remember, it's not about whether YOU think an idea is dangerous, it's about books that have been challenged as dangerous at some point in history.




message 4: by John (last edited Aug 16, 2009 02:25PM) (new)

John Burns Surely these parameters account for 99% of classic novels ever published?

Nearly every good book ever published for example has been banned in one american school or another because of the perceived affect it will have on the students...


message 5: by Greyweather (last edited Aug 16, 2009 07:04PM) (new)

Greyweather Killthepopular wrote: "Surely these parameters account for 99% of classic novels ever published?"

Not to mention:
Every religious text, book about religion, book about atheism, or philosophy book
Every science book
Every history book
Every book of political science or political theory
Every book on psychology or sociology
Every book about about race, gender, sexual orientation (or hell, sex of any kind)
And the list just goes on and on...


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