Unbanned Books: A Celebration

With all the attention that has been garnered by alarming censorship challenges that have been erupting in libraries and school districts across the nation, we thought it might be nice to focus on the bright side. Here are just some of the many books deemed so harmless that their place on library shelves hasn’t been challenged in recent book banning efforts:

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1. Inventions and Inventors, by Roger Smith. This reference book examines 160 of the most significant inventions of the 20th century, and the people behind the inventions. Utterly uncontroversial.*
2. A Case of Need, by Michael Crichton. An early medical thriller from 1968 by Crichton, pretty tame by today’s standards, though it did win him an Edgar award for best novel.*
3. The Electrical Engineering Handbook, by Richard Dorf.  A complete reference to answer the questions encountered by practicing engineers, divided into 12 major sections that encompass the entire field of electrical engineering. Who could object?
4. The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Ditto: a standard, authoritative, comprehensive, in-depth medical guide for the general user. Nothing to see here.*
5. The Legal Atlas of the United States. A cartographic reference to law and legal issues, the legal system, and crime in the United States. Yawn.*
6. We the Students: Supreme Court Cases For and About Students, by Jerome Raskin. Sponsored by the Supreme Court Historical Society and published by Congressional Quarterly Press, this look at Supreme Court rulings is standard civics and social studies stuff – what could be more American?*
7. Life, Death and Sacrifice: Women and Family in the Holocaust, by Esther Herzog. Featuring  articles on women and the holocaust by some of the most prominent scholars in the field, conveying lessons we must never forget.*
8. Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare. This light comedy is pretty uncontroversial, even for Shakespeare, although buffoonish Toby Belch does drink a lot.**
9. Pugdog, by Andrea U’Ren. This oh-so-cute picture book from 2001 tells of a feisty pug who refuses to be prettified by her owner. Rrruff!*
10. Quinceañera, by Ilan Stavans. This collection of essays explores the importance of ritual and celebration and the Quinceañera celebration’s growing social importance to in the Latino community. A thoughtful introduction for insiders and outsiders alike.*

*Correction: Oops! Actually, it turns out that books #1, #2, #4, #5, #6, #7, #9, and #10 were among roughly 850 books targeted by Texas State lawmaker Matt Krause as titles that “might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex.” On October 25 of last year, Representative Krause sent a letter to school districts across the state, giving them 18 days to confirm whether their libraries held any of these books, together with their cost.

**Correction: Title #8, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, was challenged in a Merrimack, New Hampshire school district on grounds that the heroine’s cross-dressing ran afoul of the district’s “prohibition of alternative lifestyle instruction.”

    ~ Posted by David W.