10 Books You Won’t Believe Were Allowed To Be Written
The internet has made life difficult for censors, allowing people around the world to read whatev
er they choose on a wide range of topics.
When it comes to putting such thoughts into book form, however, there
is still plenty of people ready and eager to lodge their objections. Here are ten books that provoked huge controversy in the wake of publication.
If I Did It, by O. J. Simpson
Having been acquitted of the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1995, then found liable for their wrongful deaths in 1997, O. J. Simpson attempted to publish a hypothetical account of the murders written as if he had been guilty of the crimes.
Scheduled for release in November 2006, the book prompted huge controversy and was cancelled almost immediately, even though 400,000 copies had already been printed.
The Anarchist Cookbook, by William Powell
Written as a protest against American involvement in the Vietnam War, this book contains detailed instructions for manufacturing a variety of explosives, booby traps and other weapons. The book also contains information on intercepting electronic communications.
Though much of the latter content is now out of date thanks to the introduction of new technology, the formulas for explosives, the components of which are widely available on the internet, continue to cause controversy.
And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
This book is inspired by the true story of two Chinstrap penguins living at Central Park Zoo in New York. The penguins, despite both being male, were observed acting as if they were a conventional penguin couple.
After building a nest together and trying to hatch a rock that resembled an egg, the pair were given a live penguin egg and took turns to sit on it until it hatched into a female chick that was named Tango.
Hugely controversial due to its theme of same-sex relationships, the book has been removed from thousands of libraries and continues to be at the centre of dozens of censorship battles.
The Gates of Janus, by Ian Brady
Hundreds of books have been written about serial killers, but few have created as much controversy as this one.
The book was written by Ian Brady, one half of the notorious couple responsible the deaths of four children and a teenager in what became known as the Moors Murders.
Arrested in October 1965, Brady has been in custody ever since and is unlikely to ever be set free.
A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck
This semi-autobiographical work tells the story of the difficult journey faced by Robert, a 13-year-old boy moving into manhood. Robert is close to his butcher father but closer still to his pet pig, Pinky.
When the family faces hard economic times, Robert helps his father slaughter Pinky an act described in such graphic detail that many libraries have been asked to remove the book from their shelves.
Rage, by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
When books become controversial, it is usually because members of the reading public campaign against them, not the authors themselves.
Published in 1977 under a pseudonym King devised to see whether his success was due to talent or luck Rage centres on a high-school shooting and essentially provides justification for why such an act might take place. Linked to several real-life shooting incidents, King has since asked his publishers to withdraw it from sale.
The Turner Diaries, by Andrew MacDonald
Told through the journals of a white supremacist named Earl Turner, this book depicts a violent overthrow of the government of the United States, which then leads to a worldwide race war to eliminate all Jews and non-whites, as well as homosexuals.
Written under a pseudonym by the real-life leader of a white nationalist organisation, The Turner Diaries is said to be the most racist book ever written and has been associated with a number of real-life hate crimes.
The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie
Arguably the most controversial book in history, The Satanic Verses is said to contain blasphemous references to Islam. Such was the outrage caused by the book, the supreme leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Khomeini, publicly called for Rushdie’s murder.
In addition to the fatwa issued against Rushdie himself, several others associated with the publication of the book have faced threats or been physically attacked, most notably the Japanese translator who was murdered in 1991.
Last Exit to Brooklyn, by Hubert Selby Jr.
Published in 1964 and immediately controversial due to its extremely graphic depictions of sex, violence and drug use, Last Exit to Brooklyn was the subject of a major obscenity trial in the UK.
The all-male jury (the presiding judge decided women would be too embarrassed to read the work) found the defendants guilty, but the ban was overturned two years later on appeal.
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln An international best seller on its release in 1982, the book gained a second lease of life many years later when it emerged as the chief inspiration for Dan Brown’s thriller, The Da Vinci Code.
This was the first book to suggest that, rather than live a life of celibacy, Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children, whose descendants intermarried with various noble families a highly controversial claim that is hotly disputed by Christians the world over.
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[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’][/author_image] [author_info]This post was contributed by Love Reading; founded for book lovers by book lovers since 2005.[/author_info] [/author]
