The Most Banned Books In History And The Stories Behind Why They Were Silenced

Banning a book is one of the oldest forms of censorship. It sends a clear message: this idea is too dangerous to exist freely. And yet, the books that get banned tend to be exactly the ones worth reading. Here is a look at some of the most heavily banned books in history and the real reasons they were silenced.

Why Books Get Banned

The reasons behind book banning have changed over the centuries but fall into a few consistent categories. Religious authorities have banned books that challenged their doctrine. Governments have banned books that exposed abuse, questioned authority, or inspired resistance. Social institutions have banned books that portrayed marginalized groups with dignity or depicted sexuality in ways that unsettled mainstream morality. In almost every case, the book in question said something that someone in power did not want people to hear.

The Bible and the Quran

Both of the world's most widely read religious texts have been banned by secular and rival religious authorities throughout history. The Roman Empire banned early Christian scriptures. Protestant translations of the Bible were banned across Catholic Europe. Today the Quran is banned or heavily restricted in countries including China and parts of Myanmar.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Orwell's chilling portrait of a surveillance state has been banned in the Soviet Union, challenged in the United States in school libraries, and restricted in multiple other countries. The book essentially managed to be politically suspicious to everyone, which is perhaps its highest recommendation.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

When Steinbeck published this novel about dispossessed American farmers during the Great Depression, the state of California tried to have it banned. Counties in Oklahoma burned copies. Critics argued it was communist propaganda. The book won the Pulitzer Prize the year after it was published and is credited as a key factor in Steinbeck being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Despite being one of the most celebrated American novels ever written, Lee's story about racial injustice in the American South has been challenged and removed from school curricula more times than almost any other book. Objections have come from both directions over the decades, with some finding the racial language offensive and others objecting to what they call its political messaging.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

It may seem almost unthinkable that Anne Frank's diary has been banned, but it has. A Virginia school district challenged it for being too explicit. In several countries with authoritarian governments, it has been suppressed as Western political propaganda. A version of the diary was also challenged in Michigan for passages that were considered offensive, despite the author being a teenage girl writing about her own developing thoughts and body.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

The world's best-selling children's book series has been banned or challenged in school libraries across dozens of countries for allegedly promoting witchcraft and Satanism. In 2003, a New Mexico church burned copies. Objections have been raised in the United States, UK, Australia, and several predominantly Catholic countries.

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

Pasternak's epic novel was banned by the Soviet Union for its perceived criticism of the Communist Revolution. It was smuggled out of the country and published in Italy in 1957. The CIA reportedly played a role in distributing copies back into the Soviet Union as part of Cold War propaganda efforts. Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature but was forced by Soviet authorities to decline it.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Set in Nazi Germany and narrated by Death, this novel has been challenged and restricted in schools across the United States and Australia for its language and wartime violence. It consistently appears on banned book lists despite widespread critical acclaim and its use as an educational tool for teaching about the Holocaust.

What Banning Tells Us

Every banned book is a mirror held up to the society that banned it. The things a culture tries to silence reveal exactly what it fears most. If you want to understand a moment in history, look at what was forbidden to read.

A Note for the Curious

If you are drawn to books that sit in uncomfortable territory, Skriuwer.com carries several titles dealing with suppressed history, hidden facts, and stories that official narratives tend to leave out. Not all of them would be everyone's cup of tea, but then again, neither were most of the books on this list.