List of books banned by governments
Banned books are books or other printed works such as essays or plays which are prohibited by law or to which free access is not permitted by other means. The practice of banning books is a form of censorship, from political, legal, religious, moral, or (less often) commercial motives. This article lists notable banned books and works, giving a brief context for the reason that each book was prohibited. Banned books include fictional works such as novels, poems and plays and non-fiction works such as biographies and dictionaries.
Since there is a large number of banned books, some publishers have specialized in them. The best-known examples are the Parisian Obelisk Press, which published Henry Miller's sexually frank novel Tropic of Cancer, and Olympia Press, which published William Burroughs's Naked Lunch. Both of these, the work of father Jack Kahane and son Maurice Girodias, specialized in English-language books which were prohibited, at the time, in Great Britain and the United States. Ruedo Ibérico, also located in Paris, specialized in books prohibited in Spain during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Russian literature prohibited during the Soviet period was published outside of Russia.
Books are still banned in the 2010s. Nowhere in the world can everything be published, although the prohibitions vary strikingly from one country to another: hate speech, for example, is prohibited in a number of countries, such as Sweden, though the same books may be legal in the United States, where the only prohibition is on child pornography. Some believe that the banning of specific books is appropriate, such as the anti-Semitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion, in Russia, or Hitler's Mein Kampf, in Austria.
Books have been and still are banned in the 2010s by some school and public libraries. This is usually the result of complaints from parents, who find particular books not appropriate for their children (e.g., books about sexual orientation like And Tango Makes Three.) In many libraries, including the British Library and the Library of Congress, erotic books are housed in separate collections in restricted access reading room. In some libraries, a special application may be needed to read certain books.[1] Libraries sometimes avoid purchasing controversial books, and the personal opinions of librarians have at times impacted book selection.
Alphabetical list
Title | Author | Year Published | Type | Description of the case(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
About a Silence in Literature | Živorad Stojković | Essay | Banned in Yugoslavia by court order in 1951.[2] | |
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | Lewis Carroll | 1865 | Children's novel/adventure | Formerly banned in the province of Hunan, China, beginning in 1931, for its portrayal of anthropomorphized animals acting on the same level of complexity as human beings. The censor General Ho Chien believed that attributing human language to animals was an insult to humans. He feared that the book would teach children to regard humans and animals on the same level, which would be "disastrous".[3] |
All Quiet on the Western Front | Erich Maria Remarque | 1929 | Anti-war novel | Banned in Nazi Germany for being demoralizing and insulting to the Wehrmacht.[4] |
American Psycho | Bret Easton Ellis | 1991 | Novel | Sale and purchase was banned in the Australian State of Queensland. Now available in public libraries and for sale to people 18 years and older. Sale restricted to persons at least 18 years old in the other Australian states.[5] |
An Area of Darkness | V. S. Naipaul | 1964 | Travelogue | Banned in India for its negative portrayal of India and its people.[6] |
Angaray | Sajjad Zaheer | 1932 | Progressive short stories | Banned in India in 1936 by the British government.[7] |
The Anarchist Cookbook | William Powell | 1971 | Instructional | Banned in Australia.[8] |
Animal Farm | George Orwell | 1945 | Political novella | Completed in 1943, Orwell found that no publisher would print the book, due to its criticism of the U.S.S.R., an important ally of Britain in the War.[9] Once published, the book was banned in the USSR and other communist countries.[10] In 2002, the novel was banned in the schools of the United Arab Emirates, because it contained text or images that goes against Islamic values, most notably the occurrence of an anthropomorphic, talking pig.[11] The book is still banned in North Korea, and censored in Vietnam. |
Apocalypse Culture | Adam Parfrey | 1987 | non-fiction | Is a collection of articles, interviews, and documents that explore the various marginal aspects of culture. It was banned in Russia in July of 2006 by court order for propaganda of drug use, after its first and only Russian publication by "UltraCulture" publishing (Ультра.Культура). All the printed copies of that Russian edition were destroyed. |
Areopagitica | John Milton | 1644 | Essay | Banned in the Kingdom of England for political reasons.[12] |
Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism | Ha-Joon Chang | 2008 | Non-fiction | One of 23 books which from August 1, 2008 onward is banned for distribution within the South Korean military.[13] |
The Bible | Jewish and Christian | see Dating the Bible | Religious text | Censored in dozens of countries, both historically and in the current era. At present, the Bible is banned or greatly restricted in a number of countries[14] including North Korea.[15] Sometimes, the ban is on distributing the Bible in certain languages or versions. The Bible in Spanish was prohibited in Spain from the sixteenth until the nineteenth century.[16] In 1234, King James I of Aragon ordered the burning of Bibles in the vernacular.[17] |
Big River, Big Sea — Untold Stories of 1949 | Lung Ying-tai | 2009 | Non-fiction | It sold over 100,000 copies in Taiwan and 10,000 in Hong Kong in its first month of release, but discussion of her work was banned in mainland China following the book launch.[18] |
Borstal Boy | Brendan Behan | 1958 | Autobiographical novel | Banned in Ireland in 1958. The Irish Censorship of Publications Board was not obliged to reveal its reason but it is believed that it was rejected for its critique of Irish republicanism and the Catholic Church, and its depiction of adolescent sexuality. It was banned in Australia and New Zealand shortly after. It was allowed to be published in New Zealand in 1963.[19] |
The Boys | Garth Ennis | 2012 | Comic book series | Banned in Qatar in 2012.[20] |
Brave New World | Aldous Huxley | 1932 | Novel | Banned in Ireland in 1932, allegedly because of references of sexual promiscuity.[21] Banned in Australia from 1932 to 1937.[8] |
Burger's Daughter | Nadine Gordimer | 1979 | Novel | Banned in South Africa in July, 1979 for going against the government's racial policies; the ban was reversed in October of the same year.[11] |
Candide | Voltaire | 1759 | Novel | Seized by US Customs in 1930 for obscenity.[22] |
The Canterbury Tales | Geoffrey Chaucer | late 14th century | Story collection | Banned from the U.S. mail under the Federal Anti-Obscenity Act (Comstock Law) of 1873, which banned the sending or receiving of works containing "obscene," "filthy," or "inappropriate" material.[22] |
Castration of the Wind | Prvoslav Vujčić | Poems | Written in Tuzla prison in 1984. Banned in Yugoslavia by court order in 1984; republished in 2005.[2] | |
Catch-22 | Joseph Heller | 1961 | Novel | Banned in several U.S. states: in 1972, it was banned in Strongsville, Ohio (overturned in 1976); in 1974, it was banned in Dallas, Texas and in Snoqualmie, Washington in 1979, because it has several references to women as "whores".[23] |
The Country Girls | Edna O'Brien | 1960 | Novel | Banned by Ireland's censorship board in 1960 for its explicit sexual content.[24][25] |
Curved River | Živojin Pavlović | 1963 | story collection | In 1963 in Yugoslavia withdrawn by the publisher (Nolit) at request of SDB officials.[26] |
The Da Vinci Code | Dan Brown | 2003 | Novel | Banned in September 2004 in Lebanon after Catholic leaders deemed it offensive to Christianity. (See Inaccuracies in The Da Vinci Code.)[27] |
The Dark | John McGahern | 1965 | Novel | Banned in Ireland for obscenity.[28] |
The Death of Lorca | Ian Gibson | 1971 | Biography | Banned briefly in Spain.[29] |
The Decameron | Giovanni Boccaccio | 1353 | Story collection | Banned from the U.S. mail under the Federal Anti-Obscenity Act (Comstock Law) of 1873, which banned the sending or receiving of works containing "obscene," "filthy," or "inappropriate" material.[22] |
The Truth About Muhammad | Robert Spencer (author) | 2006 | Non-fiction | On December 20, 2006, the government of Pakistan announced a ban on Spencer's book, citing "objectionable material" as the cause.[30] |
Dictionary of Modern Serbo-Croatian Language | Miloš Moskovljević | Dictionary | Banned in Yugoslavia by court order in 1966, at request of Mirko Tepavac, because "some definitions can cause disturbance among citizens".[26] | |
Droll Stories | Honoré de Balzac | 1837 | Short stories | Banned for obscenity in Canada in 1914 and Ireland in 1953. The ban was lifted in Ireland in 1967.[31][32] |
The Devil's Discus | Rayne Kruger | 1964 | Non-fiction | Banned in Thailand in 2006.[33] |
El Señor Presidente | Miguel Ángel Asturias | 1946 | Novel | Banned in Guatemala because it went against the ruling political leaders.[34] |
Ecstasy and Me | Hedy Lamarr | 1966 | Autobiography | Banned in Australia from 1967 until 1973.[8] |
Elmer Gantry | Sinclair Lewis | 1927 | Novel | Banned in Boston, Massachusetts, Kansas City, Missouri, Camden, New Jersey and other U.S. cities and this novel by Sinclair deals with fanatical religiosity and hypocrisy in the United States during the 1920s by presenting a skeevy preacher (the Reverend Dr. Elmer Gantry) as a protagonist who prefers easy money, booze, and "enticing young girls" over saving souls, all while converting a traveling tent revival crusade into a profitable and permanent evangelical church and radio empire for his employers. Elmer Gantry also widely denounced from pulpits across the United States at the time of its initial publication.[35][36] |
Fanny Hill or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure | John Cleland | 1748 | Novel | Banned in the U.S.A. in 1821 for obscenity, then again in 1963. This was the last book ever banned in the U.S.A.[4] See also Memoirs v. Massachusetts. |
Feast for the Seaweeds | Haidar Haidar | 1983 | Novel | Banned in Egypt and several other Arab states, and even resulted in a belated angry reaction from the clerics of Al-Azhar University upon reprinting in Egypt in the year 2000. The clerics issued a Fatwa banning the novel, and accused Haidar of heresy and offending Islam. Al-Azhar University students staged huge protests against the novel, that eventually led to its confiscation.[37][38][39] |
The Federal Mafia | Irwin Schiff | 1992 | Non-fiction | An injunction was issued by a U.S. District Court in Nevada under 26 U.S.C. § 7408 against Irwin Schiff and associates Cynthia Neun and Lawrence Cohen, against the sale of this book by those persons as the court found that the information it contains is fraudulent[40] |
Fifty Shades Of Grey | E L James | 2011 | Novel | The entire trilogy was banned in Malaysia from 2015 for containing "sadistic" material and "threat to morality".[41] |
Fifty Shades Darker | E L James | 2012 | Novel | The entire trilogy was banned in Malaysia from 2015 for containing "sadistic" material and "threat to morality". |
Fifty Shades Freed | E L James | 2012 | Novel | The entire trilogy was banned in Malaysia from 2015 for containing "sadistic" material and "threat to morality". |
Frankenstein (1818) | Mary Shelley | 1818 | Novel | Banned in apartheid South Africa in 1955 for containing "obscene" or "indecent" material.[22] |
The Fugitive (Perburuan) (1950) | Pramoedya Ananta Toer | 1950 | Novel | Banned in Indonesia in 1950, for containing "subversive" material, including an attempt to promote Marxist–Leninist thought and other Communist theories. As of 2006, the ban is still in effect.[11] |
The First Circle (1968) | Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn | 1968 | Novel | After Nikita Khrushchev was removed from power in 1964, all current and future works by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn were banned in the Soviet Union. This work details the lives of scientists forced to work in a Stalinist research center.[42] |
The Gods Laugh on Mondays (1995) | Reza Khoshnazar | 1995 | Novel | Was banned in Iran after men torched its publication house.[43] |
The Grapes of Wrath (1939) | John Steinbeck | 1939 | Novel | Was temporarily banned in many places in the US. In the state of California in which it was partially set, it was banned for its alleged unflattering portrayal of area residents.[44] |
Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India (2011) | Joseph Lelyveld | 2011 | Biography | Is currently banned in Gujarat, a state in western India, for suggesting that Mahatma Gandhi had a homosexual relationship. Gujarat's state assembly voted unanimously in favour of the ban in April, 2011.[45] |
Green Eggs and Ham | Dr. Seuss | 1960 | Novel | In 1965, the children's novel was temporarily banned in the People's Republic of China for its portrayal of early Marxism. The ban was lifted in 1991, following Seuss' death.[46] |
The Gulag Archipelago (1973) | Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn | 1973 | Fiction | Banned in the Soviet Union because it went against the image the Soviet Government tried to project of itself and its policies.[47] However, it has been available in the Soviet Union since at least the 1980s. In 2009, the Education Ministry of Russia added The Gulag Archipelago to the curriculum for high-school students.[48] |
The Heart of India (1958) | Alexander Campbell | 1958 | Fiction | Banned by the Indian government in 1959 on grounds of being “repulsive”.[6] |
He Himself (1748) | Edward Cangas | 1748 | Autobiography | Banned in the Philippines in 1821 for obscenity, then again in 1963. This was the last book ever banned in Batasan Hills Quezon City[4] See also The Man Who Rode a Shark. |
How to make disposable silencers (1984) | Desert and Eliezer Flores | 1984 | Instructional | An example of a class of books banned in Australia that "promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime or violence".[49][50] |
Howl (1955) | Allen Ginsberg | 1955 | Poem | Copies of the first edition seized by San Francisco Customs for obscenity in March 1957; after trial, obscenity charges were dismissed.[51] |
The Hoax of the Twentieth Century | Arthur Butz | Non-fiction | Classified as "hate literature" in Canada with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police destroying copies as recently as 1995.[52] | |
I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation (2005) | Michaela Wrong | 2005 | History | Banned in Eritrea in 2014 for its criticism of President Isaias Afewerki[53][not in citation given] |
Into the River (2012) | Ted Dawe | 2012 | Novel | Banned in New Zealand in 2015; subsequently unrestricted in the same year.[54] |
Islam – A Concept of Political World Invasion (2003) | R. V. Bhasin | 2003 | Political ideology | Banned in Maharashtra, India in 2007, after its publishing on grounds that it promotes communal disharmony between Hindus and Muslims.[55][56] |
July's People (1981) | Nadine Gordimer | 1981 | Novel | Banned during the Apartheid-era in South Africa.[57] July's People is now included in the South African school curriculum.[58] |
Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence (2009) | Jaswant Singh | 2009 | Biography | Temporarily banned in Gujarat, India in August 2009.[59] The ban was overturned by the Gujarat High Court in December 2009.[60] |
Jinnah of Pakistan (1982) | Stanley Wolpert | 1982 | Biography | Banned in Pakistan for recounting Jinnah’s taste for wine and pork.[61] |
Jæger – i krig med eliten (2009) | Thomas Rathsack | 2009 | Autobiography | The Danish military tried to ban the book September 2009 for national security reasons; a court rejected the ban as the book was already leaked in the press and on the Internet.[62] |
The Jungle (1906) | Upton Sinclair | 1906 | Novel | In 1956, it was banned in East Germany for its incompatibility with Communism.[63] |
Persepolis (comics) (2000) | Marjane Satrapi | 2000 | Novel | In 2013, banned in Chicago classrooms, leading to public outcry[64] |
The King Never Smiles (2006) | Paul M. Handley | 2006 | Biography | Banned in Thailand for its criticism of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.[65] |
Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928) | D. H. Lawrence | 1928 | Novel | Temporarily banned in the United States and the United Kingdom for violation of obscenity laws; both bans were lifted in 1959 and 1960, respectively.[32]
Banned in Australia from 1929 to 1965.[8][66] Chinese translation by Rao Shu-yi denied open publication by China's Central Bureau in 1936, and it ordered booksellers to stop advertising and selling the novel.[67] |
Lajja (1993) | Taslima Nasrin | 1993 | Novel | Banned in Bangladesh,[68][69] and a few states of India. |
Lethal Marriage | Nick Pron | True crime | Written by a newspaper reporter about the Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka case, this book allegedly contains inaccuracies, additionally, complaints were received by the St. Catharines library board from the mother of a victim that led to the book being removed from all public library branches in the city.[52] As recently as 1999 this book was still unavailable to public library patrons in St. Catherines.[52] | |
Les Moeurs | François-Vincent Toussaint | Book | Officially banned in France in 1748.[70] | |
Little Black Sambo (1899) | Helen Bannerman | 1899 | Children's story | Banned in Japan (1988–2005) to quell "political threats to boycott Japanese cultural exports", although the pictures were not those of the original version.[71] |
Lolita (1955) | Vladimir Nabokov | 1955 | Novel | French officials banned it for being "obscene," as did the United Kingdom, Argentina, New Zealand (uncensored 1964) and South Africa.[72]
Banned in Canada in 1958, though the ban was later lifted.[73] |
The Lonely Girl (1962) | Edna O'Brien | 1962 | Novel | Banned in Ireland in 1962 after Archbishop John Charles McQuaid complained personally to Justice Minister Charles Haughey that it "was particularly bad".[25] |
The Lottery (1948) | Shirley Jackson | 1948 | Short story | Banned in South Africa during Apartheid.[74] |
Love Comes Later (2014) | Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar | 2014 | Novel | Banned in Qatar.[75] |
Lysistrata (411 BC) | Aristophanes | Play | Banned in 1967 in Greece because of its anti-war message.[22] | |
Madame Bovary (1856) | Gustave Flaubert | 1856 | Novel | Flaubert's novel was banned and he was prosecuted for "offenses against public morals".[76] |
The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up (2012) | Jacob M. Appel | 2012 | Novel | Banned in Qatar in 2014 for its depiction of Islam.[77] |
Mein Kampf (1925) | Adolf Hitler | 1925 | Political manifesto | Banned in some European nations and the Russian Federation as extremist.[78]
In Germany, the copyright of the book is claimed by the Free State of Bavaria and Bavarian authorities try to prevent any reprinting. It is legal to own or distribute existing copies.[79] In Austria, the Verbotsgesetz 1947 prohibits the printing of the book. It is illegal to own[citation needed] or distribute existing copies.[80] Following the general prohibition of advocating the Nazi Party or its aims in § 3 and of re-founding Nazi organizations in § 1, § 3 d. of the Verbotsgesetz states: "Whoever publicly or before several people, through printed works or disseminated texts or illustrations requests, encourages or seeks to induce others to commit any of the acts prohibited under § 1 or § 3, especially if for this purpose he gloryfies (sic) or advertises the aims of the Nazi Party, its institutions or its actions, provided that it does not constitute a more serious criminal offense, will be punished with imprisonment from five to ten years, or up to twenty years if the offender or his actions are especially dangerous."[80] |
Memoirs of Hecate County (1946) | Edmund Wilson | 1946 | Novel | Banned in the United States until 1959. |
The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption (1650) | William Pynchon | 1650 | Religious critique | The first book banned in the New World. Pynchon, a prominent leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who, in 1636, founded the City of Springfield, Massachusetts, wrote this explicit critique of Puritanism, published in London in 1650. That year, several copies made their way back to the New World. Pynchon, who resided in Springfield, was unaware that his book suffered the New World's first book burning, on the Boston Common. Accused of heresy by the Massachusetts General Court, Pynchon quietly transferred ownership of the Connecticut River Valley's largest land-holdings to his son, and then suffered indignities as he left the New World for England. It was the first work banned in Boston.[81] |
A Message to Man and Humanity | Aleksandar Cvetković | Banned in Yugoslavia by court order in 1967 for "false and wicked claims, and enemy propaganda that supports pro-Chinese politics".[26] | ||
Mirror of the Polish Crown (1618) | Sebastian Miczyński | 1618 | Anti-Semitic pamphlet | Because this pamphlet published in 1618 was one of the causes of the anti-Jewish riots in Cracow, it was banned by Sigismund III Vasa.[82] |
Moll Flanders or The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders (1722) | Daniel Defoe | 1722 | Novel | Banned from the U.S. mail under the Federal Anti-Obscenity Act (Comstock Law) of 1873, which banned the sending or receiving of works containing "obscene," "filthy," or "inappropriate" material[83] |
The Mountain Wreath (1847) | Petar II Petrović-Njegoš | 1847 | Drama in verse | Banned in Bosnian schools by Carlos Westendorp.[84] |
My Father's Daughter (2005) | Hannah Pool | 2005 | Fiction | Banned in Eritrea in 2014 for political content[53][not in citation given] |
Naked Lunch (1959) | William S. Burroughs | 1959 | Novel | Banned by Boston courts in 1962 for obscenity, but that decision was reversed in 1966 by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.[85] |
Naree (1992) | Humayun Azad | 1992 | Criticism | Banned in Bangladesh in 1995.[86] |
New Class (1957) | Milovan Đilas | Banned in Yugoslavia by court order in 1957; author sentenced for enemy propaganda to seven years in prison, prolonged to 13 years in 1962.[26] | ||
The Nickel-Plated-Feet Gang During the Occupation | Successors of Louis Forton | 1879–1934 | Comic book | Banned in Yugoslavia by court order in 1945.[2] |
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) | George Orwell | 1949 | Novel | Banned by the Soviet Union in 1950, as Stalin understood that it was a satire based on his leadership. It was nearly banned by U.S.A. and UK in the early 1960s during the Cuban Missile Crisis.reference? It was not until 1990 that the Soviet Union legalised the book and it was re-released after editing.[87] |
fr:Noir Canada (2008) | Alain Deneault | 2008 | Documentary Book | Banned from sale in Canada following two defamation lawsuit from Barrick Gold and Banro and an out-of-court settlement.[88] |
Notre ami le roi (1993) | Gilles Perrault | 1993 | Biography of Hassan II of Morocco | Banned in Morocco. This book is a biography of King Hassan and examines cases of torture, killing, and political imprisonment said to have been carried out by the Moroccan Government at his orders.[89] |
Nine Hours To Rama (1962) | Stanley Wolpert | 1962 | Novel | Banned in India. It exposes persons responsible for security lapses that led to Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.[90] |
The Naked and the Dead (1948) | Norman Mailer | 1948 | Novel | Banned in Canada in 1949 for "obscenity."[91] |
On Fierce Wound – Fierce Herb | Ratko Zakić | Withdrawn from sales and destroyed after the decision of the Municipal Committee of the League of Communists of Kraljevo in Kraljevo, Yugoslavia in 1967.[26] | ||
On the Origins and Perpetual Use of the Legislative Powers of the Apostolic Kings of Hungary in Matters Ecclesiastical (1764) | Adam F. Kollár | 1764 | Political | Banned in the Papal States for arguments against the political role of the Roman Catholic Church.[92] Original title: De Originibus et Usu perpetuo. |
One Day of Life (1980) | Manlio Argueta | 1980 | Novel | Banned by El Salvador for its portrayal of human rights violations.[93] |
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962) | Alexander Solzhenitsyn | 1962 | Novel | Banned from publication in the Soviet Union in 1964.[11] |
The 120 Days of Sodom (1789) | Marquis de Sade | 1789 | Novel | Banned by the Australian Government in 1957 for obscenity.[94] |
Operation Dark Heart (2010) | Army Reserve Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer | 2010 | Memoir | In September 2010 the U.S. Department of Defense overrode the Army's January approval for publication. The DoD then purchased and destroyed all 9,500 first edition copies citing concerns that it contained classified information which could damage the integrity of U.S. National Security. The publisher, St. Martin's Press,[95] in conjunction with the DoD created a censored second edition; which contains blackened out words, lines, paragraphs, and even portions of the index.[96] |
The Peaceful Pill Handbook (2007) | Philip Nitschke and Fiona Stewart | 2007 | Instructional manual on euthanasia | Initially banned in New Zealand by Office of Film & Literature Classification since it was deemed to be objectionable.[97] In May 2008 an edited version of the book was allowed for sale if sealed and an indication of the censorship classification was displayed. The book was initially restricted in Australia:[98] after review the 2007 edition was banned outright.[50][99][100] |
Peyton Place (1956) | Grace Metalious | 1956 | Novel | Banned in Canada from 1956–1958.[73] |
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (1903) | Unknown | 1903 | A forgery, portraying an alleged Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. | Banned in various libraries and many attempts to ban in various nations, as in Russia.[101] |
The Quran | Muslim | Religious text | As with many holy books, the Quran has been subject to scrutiny and censorship at various points throughout history. Proposals and movements advocating outright bans of the Quran are uncommon in the West, occurring only among extremist right-wing circles.[102] The most notable recent (and controversial) ban of a version of the Quran happened in 2013 when a Russian court censored the text under the country's 'extremism' laws.[103] | |
Rangila Rasul (1927) | Pt. Chamupati | 1927 | Religious | Currently banned in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.[104] |
Rights of Man (1791) | Thomas Paine | 1791 | Political theory | Banned in the UK and author charged with treason for supporting the French Revolution.[22] Banned in Tsarist Russia after the Decembrist revolt.[105] |
Rowena Goes Too Far (1931) | H. C. Asterley | 1931 | Novel | Banned in Australia because of customs belief that it “lacked sufficient claim to the literary to excuse the obscenity”[106] |
The Satanic Verses (1988) | Salman Rushdie | 1988 | Novel | Banned in the following countries for alleged blasphemy against Islam: Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Kenya, Kuwait, Liberia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Senegal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Thailand.[107][108] |
The Satanic Bible (1969) | Anton LaVey | 1969 | Religious text | Banned during apartheid in South Africa from 1973 to 1993 for moral reasons.[109] |
Scouting for the Reaper (2014) | J.M. Appel | 2014 | Fiction | Banned in Eritrea in 2014 for its criticism of civil liberties under President Isaias Afewerki[53][not in citation given] |
Sexual Customs ("Xing Fengsu") (1989) | . | 1989 | Non-Fiction | Banned in China in 1989 for insulting Islam[110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122] |
Shivaji - Hindu King in Islamic India (2003) | James Laine | 2003 | History | Banned in Indian state of Maharashtra in 2004 for "promoting social enmity"; ban overturned by Bombay High Court in 2007.[123] |
Smash and Grab: Annexation of Sikkim (1984) | Sunanda Datta-Ray | 1984 | History | Banned in India. Describes the process of the annexation of the Buddhist kingdom of Sikkim by the Indian government of Indira Gandhi in 1975.[90] |
A Sneaking Suspicion (1995) | John Dickson | 1995 | Religious Text | Banned by the New South Wales Department of Education and Communities from state schools May 5, 2015 for undisclosed reasons. It was speculated that the book's pro-monogamy stance may have led to the ban.[124] The ban was lifted May 19, 2015. |
Snorri the Seal (1941) | Frithjof Sælen | 1941 | Fable | Satirical book banned during the German occupation of Norway.[125] |
Soft Target: How the Indian Intelligence Service Penetrated Canada (1989) | Zuhair Kashmeri & Brian McAndrew | 1989 | Investigative journalism | Banned in India.[126] |
A Spoon on Earth | Hyeon Gi-yeong | Novel | Banned for distribution within the South Korean military as one of 23 books banned there beginning on August 2008.[13][127] | |
Spycatcher (1985) | Peter Wright | 1985 | Autobiography | Banned in the UK 1985–1988 for revealing secrets. Wright was a former MI5 intelligence officer and his book was banned before it was even published in 1987.[128][129] |
Storytellers II | Boško Novaković | Short stories | Withdrawn from print in Yugoslavia in 1964 because it contained stories by Dragiša Vasić.[26] | |
The Stud (1969) | Jackie Collins | 1969 | Novel | Banned in Australia in 1969.[8] |
Suicide mode d'emploi (1982) | Claude Guillon | 1982 | Instructional | This book, reviewing recipes for committing suicide, was the cause of a scandal in France in the 1980s, resulting in the enactment of a law prohibiting provocation to commit suicide and propaganda or advertisement of products, objects, or methods for committing suicide.[130] Subsequent reprints were thus illegal. The book was cited by name in the debates of the French National Assembly when examining the bill.[131] |
Thalia | Arius (AD 250 or 256 – 336) | Theological tract, partly in verse | Banned in the Roman Empire in the 330s+ for contradicting Trinitarianism. All of Arius writings were ordered burned and Arius exiled, and presumably assassinated for his writings.[132] Banned by the Catholic Church for the next thousand plus years.[citation needed] | |
The True Furqan (1999) | "Al Saffee" and "Al Mahdee" | 1999 | Religious text | Import into India prohibited on the grounds of threatening national security.[133] |
Thoughts of a Corpse | Prvoslav Vujčić | Poems | Banned in Yugoslavia by court order in 1983; republished in 2004.[2] | |
Tropic of Cancer (1934) | Henry Miller | 1934 | Novel (fictionalized memoir) | Banned in the U.S.A in the 1930s until the early 1960s, seized by US Customs for sexually explicit content and vulgarity. The rest of Miller's work was also banned by the United States.[134] Also banned in South Africa until the late 1980s.[citation needed] |
Ulysses (1922) | James Joyce | 1922 | Novel | Banned in UK until the 1930s.[135] Challenged and temporarily banned in the U.S.A for its sexual content. In 1933 the ban was overturned in United States v. One Book Called Ulysses.[136] Banned in Australia from 1929 to 1937, then restricted to people over the age of 18 from 1941 to 1953.[8] |
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) | Harriet Beecher Stowe | 1852 | Novel | Banned in the Confederate States during the Civil War because of its anti-slavery content. In 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin was banned in Russia under the reign of Nicholas I because of the idea of equality it presented, and for its "undermining religious ideals."[11] |
Understanding Islam through Hadis (1982) | Ram Swarup | 1982 | Critique of political Islam | Banned in India.[137] |
United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense (1971) | Robert McNamara and the United States Department of Defense | 1971 | Government study | Also known as the Pentagon Papers. U.S. President Nixon attempted to suspend publication of classified information. The restraint was lifted by the US Supreme Court in a 6–3 decision.[138] See also New York Times Co. v. United States. |
Unarmed Victory (1963) | Bertrand Russell | 1963 | Banned in India. Contains unflattering details of the 1962 Sino-Indian War.[90] | |
Various works | Shen Congwen | 1902–1988 | Novels | "Denounced by the Communists and Nationalists alike, Mr. Shen saw his writings banned in Taiwan, while mainland [China] publishing houses burned his books and destroyed printing plates for his novels. .... So successful was the effort to erase Mr. Shen's name from the modern literary record that few younger Chinese today recognize his name, much less the breadth of his work. Only since 1978 has the Chinese Government reissued selections of his writings, although in editions of only a few thousand copies. .... In China, his passing was unreported."[139] |
Truth for Germany - The Question of Guilt for the Second World War | Udo Walendy | 1968 | Historical work | In 1979 this book was listed by Germany's Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons as material that could not be publicly advertised or given to young readers, due to the version it presented of the events that led to World War II. This restriction was lifted in 1994, after a long legal battle. |
The Well of Loneliness (1928) | Radclyffe Hall | 1928 | Novel | Banned in the UK in 1928 for its lesbian theme; republished in 1949.[140] |
White Niggers of America (1970) | Pierre Vallières | 1970 | Political work | Deals with Québec politics and society; written while the author was incarcerated. An edition published in France was not allowed into Canada; an edition was published in the U.S. in 1971.[52][dead link] |
Wild Swans (1993) | Jung Chang | 1993 | Autobiography/Biography | Banned from publication in the People's Republic of China for its depiction of Mao Tse-tung.[141] |
The World Is Full of Married Men (1968) | Jackie Collins | 1968 | Novel | Banned in Australia in 1968.[8] |
Year 501: The Conquest Continues (1993) | Noam Chomsky | 1993 | Politics | Banned for distribution in South Korean military as one of 23 books banned on August 1, 2008.[13] |
Zhuan Falun (1993) | Li Hongzhi | 1993 | Spiritual | Banned in Mainland China.[142] |
See also
- Areopagitica: A speech of Mr John Milton for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England
- Book burning
- Burning of books and burying of scholars
- List of book burning incidents
- International Freedom of Expression Exchange
- List of authors and works on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum
- List of banned films
- Challenge (literature)
- Amazon.com controversies
References
- ↑ Peter Fryer, Private Case, Public Scandal, London, Secker & Warburg, 1966.
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- ↑ [1][dead link]
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Sajjad Zahir: The Voice of the Common Man. Chowk (2005-12-27). Retrieved on 2010-05-09.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ George Orwell, The Freedom of the Press
- ↑ Irish Centre for Human Rights, Banned and Censored Books
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Karolides
- ↑ Karolides et al., pp. 16–20
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 (Korean) Military expands book blacklist. English.hani.co.kr. Retrieved on 2012-01-21.
- ↑ Brother Andrew: God's Smuggler.
- ↑ Woman executed for distributing Bibles
- ↑ George Borrow, The Bible in Spain, London, 1843.
- ↑ Bosmajian, Haig A. 2006. Burning Books, p. 52. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co.
- ↑ China Free Press Lung Ying-tai becomes an internet pariah in China. Chinafreepress.org (2009-09-18). Retrieved on 2010-05-09.
- ↑ Brendan Behan, Irish writer and playwright, Borstal Boy. FileRoom.org. Retrieved on 2010-05-09.
- ↑ Langshaw, Mark. 'The Boys' comic books 'banned in Qatar' Digital Spy Oct 24, 2014
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Assassination of Federico Garcia Lorca: Gibson, Ian – AbeBooks – 9780140064735: Courtyard Books BA. AbeBooks. Retrieved on 2010-05-09.
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- ↑ CBC's The Current the whole show blow by blow.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Karolides et al., pp. 45–50
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Al-Ahram Weekly | Culture|Off the shelf – and then where?. Weekly.ahram.org.eg (2001-02-07). Retrieved on 2010-05-09.
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- ↑ See also footnote 1, United States v. Schiff, 2008-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) paragr. 50,111 (9th Cir. 2007), citing United States v. Schiff, 379 F.3d 621, 630 (9th Cir. 2004), regarding the Court's finding that the book The Federal Mafia: How the Government Illegally Imposes and Unlawfully Collects Income Taxes constituted "fraudulent commercial speech."
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2011.
- ↑ Newsweek, Banned and Burned in Tehran, October 1995, page 38.
- ↑ Karolides et al., pp. 57–71
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- ↑ Karolides et al., pp. 71–78
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- ↑ [2][dead link]
- ↑ 50.0 50.1 Classification Review Board. Review meeting: 7 February 2007; Decision meeting: 24 February 2007. Australian Government
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- ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Book on Islam banned, author's house raided in Mumbai – Attacks | hindujagruti.org. Google.com. Retrieved on 2010-05-09.
- ↑ CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.1421 OF 2007. The High Court of Judicature at Bombay
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- ↑ Jaswant's book reaches stores in Gujarat after court order. Ndtv.com. Retrieved on 2010-05-09.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Banned Books 2011. banned-books.org.uk
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/mar/19/persepolis-battle-chicago-schools-outcry
- ↑ Warrick-Alexander, James (February 6, 2006). Thailand Bars Univ. Website. Yale Daily News.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Bangladesh Seeks Writer, Charging She Insults Islam New York Times, June 8, 1994.
- ↑ Book Review New York Times, August 28, 1994.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 73.0 73.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Hyman, Stanley Edgar. "Introduction," Just an Ordinary Day. Bantam, 1995.
- ↑ Kapsidelis, Karin. "VCU professor's novel banned in Qatar," Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 14, 2014.
- ↑ Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert. Classiclit.about.com (2009-10-19). Retrieved on 2010-05-09.
- ↑ Allen, J. Comic Novel Banned, Gulf News 12 Feb 2014
- ↑ Федеральный список экстремистских материалов. (Federal list of extremist materials), item 604. (in Russian). minjust.ru
- ↑ bbc.com - 13 January 2015, "The Worlds most dangerous book" by Fiona Macdonald
- ↑ 80.0 80.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Banned Books | Online Sociology Degree News and Information. Onlinesociologydegree.net. Retrieved on 2012-01-21.
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- ↑ Search – Global Edition – The New York Times. International Herald Tribune (2009-03-29). Retrieved on 2012-01-21.
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- ↑ Notre ami le roi par Gilles Perrault. Bibliomonde.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-21.
- ↑ 90.0 90.1 90.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Andor Csizmadia, Adam Franz Kollár und die ungarische rechtshistorische Forschung. 1982.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ University of Melbourne (2013). Banned Books in Australia - A Special Collections-Art in the Library Exhibition." "[3]", Retrieved: 12.06.2014
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- ↑ Office of Film & Literature Classification – "The Peaceful Pill Handbook banned"
- ↑ [4][dead link]
- ↑ Office of Film & Literature Classification. censorship.govt.nz
- ↑ [5][dead link]
- ↑ http://rt.com/politics/academicians-demand-elders-zion/
- ↑ ""Ban Koran Like Mein Kampf' Says Dutch MP". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
- ↑ "Russian Muslim Clerics Warn of Unrest Over Ban of Translation of Koran". Reuters. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
- ↑ Self and Sovereignty: Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850 by Ayesha Jalal
- ↑ Banned, Burned, Censored list. Listal.com. Retrieved on 2010-05-09.
- ↑ [6]. Luciusbooks.com. Retrieved on 2011-01-10.
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- ↑ Beijing Review, Volume 32 1989, p. 13.
- ↑ Gladney 1991, p. 2.
- ↑ Schein 2000, p. 154.
- ↑ Gladney 2004, p. 66.
- ↑ Bulag 2010, p. 104.
- ↑ Gladney 2005, p. 257.
- ↑ Gladney 2013, p. 144.
- ↑ Sautman 2000, p. 79.
- ↑ Gladney 1996, p. 341.
- ↑ Lipman 1996, p. 299.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Gladney 2004, p. 232.
- ↑ Jaschok & Shui 2000, p. 209.
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- ↑ (Korean) Seditious books of 2011. 시사IN.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 1987: Ban lifted on MI5 man's memoirs. BBC News. Retrieved on 2012-01-21.
- ↑ Loi n°87-1133 du 31 décembre 1987 tendant à réprimer la provocation au suicide
- ↑ Proceedings of the French National Assembly, 14 December 1987, first sitting (in French). assemblee-nationale.fr
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Notification No. 78 /2005-Customs (N.T.). Cbec.gov.in (2005-09-07). Retrieved on 2012-01-21.
- ↑ From Henry Miller to Howard Stern, by Patti Davis, Newsweek, March, 2004
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Freedom of expression – Secular Theocracy Versus Liberal Democracy (1998, edited by Sita Ram Goel) ISBN 81-85990-55-7.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Further reading
- Banned Books, 4 volumes, Facts on File Library of World Literature, 2006.
- Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds ISBN 0-8160-6270-6
- Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds ISBN 0-8160-6269-2
- Literature Suppressed on Sexual Grounds ISBN 0-8160-6272-2
- Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds ISBN 0-8160-6271-4
- Academic freedom in Indonesia, Human Rights Watch, 1998
- Paying the price: freedom of expression in Turkey, Lois Whitman, Thomas Froncek, Helsinki Watch, 1989
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Beacon For Freedom of Expression
- Banned Books You Should Be Reading
- The Literature Police: Apartheid Censorship and its Cultural Consequences
- New Zealand office of censorship
- Australia classification board
- 10 Flashlight Worthy Books People Most Want Banned – slideshow by The Huffington Post
- UK libraries "Banned books 2011" challenging censorship in literature
- Banned and Censored Books project by the Irish Centre for Human Rights (Archived at WebCite)
- Banned Books That Shaped America
- Articles with dead external links from January 2012
- Articles with Korean-language external links
- All articles with failed verification
- Articles with failed verification from April 2015
- Articles with unsourced statements from September 2015
- Articles with unsourced statements from February 2008
- Articles with unsourced statements from September 2008
- Articles with dead external links from February 2014
- Book censorship
- Freedom of expression
- Lists of books
- Lists of controversial books
- Human rights-related lists
- Government-related lists