| Description |
143 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm |
| Contents |
The banning of books : a primer -- Religion and science -- Politics and philosophy -- Literature as threat to social order -- The Canadian experience |
| Summary |
"From the New Testament to The Diary of Anne Frank to current objections to the Harry Potter series--dubbed the most frequently challenged books of the 21st century by the American Library Association--the tradition of banning, censoring, and challenging books has been remarkably enduring. Forbidden Fruit is a fascinating overview of "objectionable" books published in the last 500 years. Many of the works discussed are very familiar and most readers will be surprised to see the writing that has been and continues to be challenged in Western society. While most citizens of a democracy say that they oppose literary censorship and support the freedom of expression, [the author] provokes us to face some of the thorny questions of modern censorship: how do we respond when a ... teacher is disciplined for assigning [Shakespeare's] The Merchant of Venice? Or when the only bookstore in ... town decides not to carry [Salmon Rushdie's] The Satanic Verses for fear of reprisals? Or when certain magazines and novels fall into that grey area between literature and pornography? In a world where freedom of speech, ideas, and religion clash with various forms of fundamentalism, where, post-9/11, democratic societies debate the limits to freedom of speech, Forbidden Fruit calls on all of us to examine the long history of censoring ideas and reminds us that the impetus to ban books is still very much alive." [book jacket] |
| Notes |
Includes index |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references: pages 137-139 |
| Subject |
Censorship.
|
|
Challenged books.
|
| ISBN |
0978176545 |
|
9780978176549 |
|
