Description: This book analyzes the history of book banning in K-12 classrooms and school libraries in the United States from the 1950s to the present. The author argues for the inclusion of controversial books in order to teach children to discover and debate values that are inconsistent ...
Brief description: Randy Bobbitt is an independent researcher and holds a PhD in communication law and policy from Bowling Green State University.
Review Quotes: "Bobbitt (communication law and policy, Bowling Green State Univ.) provides a comprehensive discussion of hundreds of cases of challenged, censored, and banned books in the US. The first two chapters provide the broad picture and set out general issues, and the last chapter examines legal challenges. The remaining six chapters are topical, looking at censorship related to profanity, race, sex, sexual identity, politics, and religion. Each chapter provides journalistic-style discussion of attempted attacks, both successful and failed, on works ranging from novels to textbooks. Bobbitt provides a balanced view, looking at both sides of the issues, but at the same time makes his anti-censorship position clear. Challenges to books are very difficult to track, so this volume stands out because of its extensive coverage of so many different experiences. This breadth alone makes the book valuable. . . the book is a goldmine in terms of facts and details. Summing Up: Recommended. . . Graduate students, researchers, professionals, general readers." --Choice Reviews