Banned books : literature suppressed on religious grounds /

The third edition of "Banned Books" features 41 new titles, expanding the four-volume series (previous reviews, rev. ed., CH, Mar'07, 44-3598, 44-3598a, 44-3598b, 44-3598c) to nearly 500 suppressed books. The set includes several popular contemporary works, such as the entire Harry Potter series, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, and Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. The large number of international titles indicates censorship's pervasiveness across cultures. All 12 additions to On Political Grounds, for example, are international in origin, including works by Nobel Prize winners Herta Muller (The Appointment, 2001) and Orhan Pamuk (Snow, 2004). Each volume updates entries by noting recent challenges, but large portions of the text remain unaltered from previous editions. No overlap exists between volumes: books banned for multiple reasons are featured only once in the series. Literary works remain the central focus, but numerous scientific and political texts are also featured. Karolides (Univ. of Wisconsin, River Falls), Bald (freelance journalist), and Sova (Montclair State Univ.) contribute introductions that discuss censorship within their subject areas and explore changes over the past half decade.Unyielding extremism and religious conservatism appear to be the major forces behind these suppressions, but two of the editors identify new, troubling trends. Sova suggests an increase in "preventative banning," wherein officials "neglect to purchase a book that has aroused controversy." In such cases, the books are never made available, which makes documenting instances of suppression extremely difficult. Likewise, Bald describes "preemptive censorship by publishers motivated by fear of violence," citing Jytte Klausen's The Cartoons That Shook the World (CH, May'10, 47-5266) as an example. The book discusses the protests over the controversial publication of 12 cartoons of Muhammad by a Danish newspaper in 2005. Klausen's publisher (Yale University Press) decided to remove examples of the images, fearing they might reignite the furor. When the Index on Censorship (CH, Dec'11, 49-xxxx) published an interview with Klausen about Yale's censorship, it likewise refused to publish the cartoons. That such esteemed publishers engage in self-censorship suggests the troubling extent of the censorship issue. As in earlier editions, every entry in this set contains a summary of the book, a censorship history, and a selection of further readings. Each volume includes a list of all titles covered by the series, arranged under the four main categories; however, a single, alphabetical list with category cross-references would be more useful, given the lack of a cumulative index. This minor complaint aside, the superb content of these titles makes them an excellent addition to libraries concerned with censorship issues. This set is indispensable for student projects during Banned Books Week. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and general readers. R. M. Roberts Lincoln Land Community College

This volume in a four-volume series (originally published in 1998 and updated in 2006) examines books banned due to religious content. Other volumes in the series address books banned for their political, social, and erotic content respectively. The text begins with a list of works discussed. As with previous editions, entries are alphabetical by title. Author, literary form, date, and country of publication are listed, followed by a summary of one to four pages. Censorship History for each book is the heart of the book. Most entries run 2 to 4 pages, with some exceptions (The Satanic Verses runs 10 pages). Writing is balanced for such a touchy subject. Thorough further-reading lists are included after every article, with a complete list at the end. Indexes are excellent they include author, title, and lots of geographic locations (Iran, Texas, Vietnam) as well as some subjects (Catholic Church, the poor, witchcraft). However, a comprehensive index would make it easier to determine if an author is found elsewhere in the set. Most public and academic libraries will want to own this resource, but some may have to decide whether the new material (about 40 titles across the four volumes) makes it worth replacing the previous edition.--Gooden, Susan Copyright 2010 Booklist

The aim of this four-volume set is to spotlight some 400 works that have been censored, banned, or condemned because of their political, social, religious, or sexual content. The entries, which include a summary, censorship history, and brief bibliography, range widely from Aristotle through Galileo and on up to Adolf Hitler and Judy Blume. Such well-known prohibited works as de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom, the Communist Manifesto, and Huckleberry Finn are included here, but so are many other works that are now less controversial, e.g., Milton's Areopagitica and Uncle Tom's Cabin. Some of the censorship histories are several pages long, but others are very short; Born on the Fourth of July gets only 50 words. Though most of the works are worth notice, too many describe fairly vapid objections: Fail-Safe was challenged by a school librarian who thought the book would undermine "America's confidence in their defense system." But as one might expect, many of the entries, such as the one for The Satanic Verses, are harrowing. Prepared by well-qualified scholars who have written and lectured extensively on censorship, the set is a very readable gathering of much useful information. It provides more depth and is more current than either Anne L. Haight's Banned Books (1978. 4th ed.) or ALA's Banned Books Resource Guide (1995). (Index not seen.)ÄPeter A. Dollard, Alma Coll. Lib., Mt. Pleasant, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.