It could be considered that the book industry began with the modern invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in approximately 1440, and with the impression of the Bible ten years later; and curiously and ironically little more than a century later, in 1564, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum , the Index of Forbidden Books , by order of Pope Pius IV.Since then, and to this day, numerous books have been persecuted for religious, political and "public moral" reasons from varying and opposing points of view according to the time and region of the world.Here are some contemporary examples.
Be amazed by these PROHIBITED books!
Insisting on the ironic aspect of censorship, one of the books that passed several decades forbidden in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR, partially current Russia) it was precisely the Biblia , banned for thirty years, from 1926 to 1956, that is, throughout the period of government of Stalin and a little more.
In the Soviet Union it was prohibited, for logical reasons, The rebellion on the farm ( Animal farm ), published by George Orwell in 1945 and that satirized the Russian revolution and the Stalin dictatorship .Soviet socialism fell but the book of Orwell continues to be banned in Cuba and China, but also in Kenya (for criticizing corrupt leaders) and in the Arab Emirates (for containing elements that go against the values of Islam).
Perhaps the most emblematic case of a forbidden book and persecuted for religious reasons is that of Salman Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), still banned in about twenty countries as considered offensive to Muhammad and Islam and that caused a world order of murder against the writer .
A less known and almost humorous case would be that of The Da Vinci Code (2003 ), by Dan Brown, banned in Lebanon since 2004 for being considered offensive to the Christian religion .And another one that will surely surprise you is that of JKRowling's Harry Potter novels, banned in several schools Christians of the United Kingdom, for promoting magic and witchcraft.
" Obscenity "has been another concept used for the persecution and prohibition of books such as Lolita (1955 ) by Vladimir Nabokov, also banned in the United Kingdom for four years; or Lady Chatterley's lover (1928), of DHLawrence, banned for 32 years.For the same reason it was banned in Canada (26 years) and in the United States (31 years old) Tropico de Cancer (1934), by Henry Miller.
Let's close this short walk through intolerance with two books on animals: The call of the jungle (1903), banned in Nazi Germany (1933-1945) because it is considered too radical, and the classic child Charlotte's web (1952), censored in Kansas (United States) in 2006 for being blasphemous and unnatural for animals to speak.
In February 1966, Pope Paul VI abolished the index of Forbidden Books , however, fifty years later the freedom of expression and thought, which are the principles i nvolucrados after the free circulation of books, continue to live dangerous times in different parts of the world.
" Books drive us crazy "seems to be the excuse to prevent people from reading what they please.Like Quixote, it's worth it Go crazy and enjoy with the body and mind the world that each book offers us.And, of course, we recommend 2 extraordinary books, Kappa and Erewhon, which you should know.
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