I picked this up one evening thinking that I would read just a few of the stories as I sat and relaxed. Instead, I read through the entire book (and was up past bedtime on a school night) because it was so very interesting. With the latest wave of challenges, bans, and even burnings, this review puts things into an historical perspective.
The books are arranged chronologically and grouped into Pre 1900, The 19th Century, Between the Wars, The Postwar Years, The Late 20th Century, and The 21st Century. If anyone were looking for information about book bans and challenges for a particular era, that would make it very easy to find examples. The content of each book is described, along with the reasons for why it was banned. Every entry lists the author and the year of publication. Some also feature quotes from the author or from critics.
With titles ranging from The Decameron and The Canterbury Tales to Persepolis and The Hate U Give, there are examples of books banned for their frank discussion of sex, their questioning of class and church hierarchy, or their advancement of scientific ideas. A few titles have sidebars about related topics; for example, under Wycliffe's Bible there is information about smuggling Bibles into the Soviet Bloc in the 1950s and details of the Scopes Monkey Trial accompany the entry for On The Origin of Species.
Anyone interested in where and why books are banned will appreciate this look across the centuries.
I read an advance copy provided by the publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment