Eight books you are forbidden from reading, The Economist
Book-banning remains a favourite tool of the autocrat and the fundamentalist, who are both genuinely threatened by the wayward ideas that literature can contain. In democracies books can provoke a different sort of panic. Armies, prisons, prim parents and progressive zealots all seek to censor literature they fear could overthrow their values. Bans on books that shock, mock or titillate reveal much about a time and place. They invariably attract legions of curious readers, too. Here are eight books you shouldn’t read.
#1
1993 • 11 Readers • 216 pages • 2.5
#2
1995 • 8 Readers • 240 pages • 5
#3
2012 • 7 Readers • 3
#4
1970 • 639 Readers • 216 pages • 4
#5
2011 • 42 Readers • 228 pages • 4
#6
#7
2005 • 24 Readers • 32 pages • 4.5
#8
1611 • 18 Readers • 1,343 pages • 4.2