Looking at the history of book banning worldwide, from Henry VIII's destruction of Catholic iconography and religious books during the dissolution, to Hitler's famous bonfires of any work deemed insufficiently Germanic in the 1930s, and up to today's over-zealous parents eager to shield children from whatever they imagine was absent in their own childhoods, some books simply appear to attract more... [more]

Apparently the Pentagon decided to commemorate Banned Books Week early, and last Monday burned 9,500 copies of Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan by Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer. The Pentagon spent $47,000 buying every copy of the first printing directly from the publisher, St. Martin's Press, and then destroyed all the books because "they contained informa... [more]

It's the 27th Annual Banned Books Week, and librarians, teachers and book lovers throughout the country are commemorating with various activities and protests against censorship. The ALA is one of several sponsors of the week, which the organization sees as an opportunity to "educate librarians and the general public about the importance of intellectual freedom," says Jim Rettig, ALA president. "I... [more]