|
Book Burning
Bibliography "Of the Burning of Books -- Is there no end?" |
ONLINE
ARTICLES
Rule of Law
and Cuba: This first citation is the where the source documents on
recent Cuban book burning are located.
To Extremists, Books Are
Trojan Horses. By
Rebecca Knuth
This is perhaps the
best, shorter
article on the various reasons for book burning. Professor Knuth writes:
"To extremists,
books are Trojan
horses, concealing political and religious heresies that have the
potential
to undermine ideology and weaken their authority. Localized cultural
violence
engineered by extremist groups
is often staged as righteous protest to affirm group allegiance while
simultaneously striking out at corrupting
influences and antithetical values...Extremism is clearly the common
denominator in book destruction,
and rationalizations of orthodoxy are a handy tool for cementing the
power of
absolutist leaders."
Book Burning and the
Problem of Evil
This is a fascinating discussion of the philosophical issues related to
book
burning, and is full
of great historical information as well as political analysis. It is
only 5
pages long (in PDF format),
but covers a lot of issues and has a useful bibliography for those
wanting to
dig deeper.
Destroying
a
Symbol: Checkered History of Sri Lanka's Jaffna Public Library
By
Rebecca Knuth. This time professor Knuth analyzes the cultural and
political
conflicts behind the tragic 1981
burning of the Jaffna Public Library. She also details how this
affected
artists and activists alike, and brings
the story up-to-date for 2006. Includes excellent historical background
on the
Civil War in Sri Lanka.
The
Burning of the Books in Nazi Germany, 1933: The American Response,
by Guy
Stern
This
is a
detailed and well-sourced article on Nazi book burning.
Ray
Bradbury
condemns Cuban book burning
'Fahrenheit 451' author takes stance while U.S. librarians ignore
counterparts
in Cuba.
Fanning
the flames in land of the Wicker Man
Book-burning has a long and ignoble history. Why is one bookseller
reviving it
today, asks Adrian Turpin,
of
the London Times.
Article raises issues not often associated with burning - especially
the
disposal of
old or unread books?
Burning
Sensations: How would-be censors promote free
speech
Reason magazine takes a different approach to the issue
of banning and burning, arguing that
non-governmental book burnings can actually promote the works the
burners are seeking to censor.
Librarian, Dave Durant,
reviews an article about how Muslim book
burners were not challenged in England, and concludes:
"In short, the Islamist
campaign against The Satanic Verses
was more than a vile attack on intellectual freedom:
it was the first step in a long process of radicalization that now
poses a
substantial danger to the UK and its allies.
By tolerating book burning in the name of multiculturalism, the British
authorities paved the way for radical Islamists
to move on to terrorism and mass murder."
Vietnamese Communist authorities burn tons of books at a time. (2001)
A skeptic's
Guide
to Christian book burning.
The
article is a
one-sided characterization of ChristianÕs as book burners, but
he does provide
sources for his charges.
The only
remaining Mayan
Codices.
Many of these beautiful and
historic documents of Mayan history
were ordered burned when Spain took over the New World.
Here are digital photos and essays on the only original "barks" of
Mayan history.
From
Book Burning to Canon: On the Destruction & Preservation of
Sacred
& Profane Texts
ONLINE
EXHIBITS
Fighting
the Fires of Hate: American and the Nazi Book Burnings
This is the best online exhibit, now travelling the US as well,
provided by the
US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The resource chronicles not only the Nazi book burning, but also what
American
Jews nd writers did in response.
It has primary documents, videos, and tremendous digital images, as
well as a
thorough bibliography, included below.
"He
who
destroyes a good Booke, kills reason it selfe"
An exhibition of books which have survived Fire, the Sword and
the
Censors
University of Kansas Library 1955 (This famous catalogue, now
online, saw
more than 20,000 copies printed.)
Quotes on
book
burning through the centuries,
From the International Federation of Library Associations.
When Books Burn
An excellent online exhibit on the Nazi Party and book burning.
This resource also provides class
activities
geared around library instruction. Their informative bibliography is
referenced
below as well. The astute
reader will notice that we borrowed the color scheme and layout for our
own
exhibit.
Library:
An Unquiet History. By Matthew Battles. Norton & Norton Co.
The Bibliography of books below is taken from
the afterward of
the online
edition of the famous 1955 exhibition,
created by the
Kenneth Spencer Research Library, which we have included
as a
link above as well.
"BIBLIOGRAPHY -- The
following works are useful as an introduction to the
history of banned books:
Craig, Alec. The banned
books of England. London, 1937.
Daniels,
Walter M. ed. The
censorship of books. New York, 1954. (The Reference Shelf, Vol. 26, No.
5.)
Ditchfield,
P. H. Books fatal
to their authors. London, 1903.
Gillett,
Charles R. Burned
books: neglected chapters in British history and literature. New York,
1932.
Two vols.
Haight, Anne
Lyon. Banned
books: informal notes on some books banned for various reasons at
various times
and in various places. Second edition, New York, 1955.
Jackson,
Holbrook. The fear
of books. London, 1932.
Houben, H.
H. Verbotene
Literatur von der klassischen Zeit bis zur Gegenwart. Berlin, 1924-28.
Two
vols.
Iversen, Max. Forbudte boger.
Copenhagen, 1948."
Benet, Stephen Vincent. They Burned the Books. New York: Farrar
& Rinehart,
1942.
Zeisel, William, ed. Censorship: 500 Years of Conflict. New York: The New York
Public Library,
1984.
"Helen Keller Warns Germany's Students; Says Burning of Books
Cannot Kill
Ideas." New York Times, 10 May 1933: 10.
Book
Burning - Kastner
and the
Nazis
JOURNAL
ARTICLES
Book
burning in Tudor
and Stuart England
By David Cressy. Sixteenth
Century Journal. 2005,
vol. 36, no2, pp. 359-374
(Abstract) This article treats book burning and censorship in
England between
the 1520s and the 1640s
as part of the communications repertoire of the early
modern state. Combating heresy, blasphemy, and sedition,
Tudor and Stuart
authorities subjected transgressive works to symbolic execution at key
sites in
London
and the universities.The addition of the hangman to the ceremony in the
1630s reinforced the authority
of the state over texts. But the ritual was not
always performed according to the script. Through gesture,
voice, and
narrative, actors and spectators sometimes subverted the ceremony,
imposing a
contrary meaning
on its message. Even as an exercise of power, book burning was
unstable, ambivalent and ultimately counterproductive.
"Heretical Plagues" and Censorship Cordons: Colonial Mexico and
the Transatlantic Book Trade.
By Martin Austin Nesvig. Church History;
Mar2006, Vol. 75 Issue 1, p1-37, 37p
Abstract (found on Ebsco Database)
The article examines the ways that theologians and jurists understood
the
nature of the Catholic censorship
as a central component of religious orthodoxy
during the Mexican Inquisition in the 1570s. It analyzes the medieval
and early
modern theoretical discussion of the connections between books and a
conception
of heresy. The application
of the Index of Prohibited Books issued by the
Spanish Inquisition on a daily basis is also discussed. The inquisitors
failed
to convince the Mexicans of the necessity for the Index for the
protection of
Catholicism.
CENSORSHIP IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY
CHINA: A VIEW FROM THE BOOK TRADE.
By Timothy Brook. Canadian Journal of History; Aug88,
Vol. 23 Issue 2, p177, 20p
Ch'in
Shih-huang's book-burning as seen from the bamboo slips unearthed in
Ying-ch'üeh-shan. By Wei,
CHIN, WEI. Chinese Studies in
History. 8:1/2 (1974:Fall-1975:Winter) p.145
The
Latest Forms of Book-Burning
By Tanselle, G. Thomas. Common
Knowledge. Vol. 2:3 (1993:Winter) p.172
Book Burning-How The
Librarians Do It
By Victor Lasky. Human
Events. Vol. 12:24 (1955:June 11) p.0
MAGAZINE
& NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Incendiary
Books.
By J, Vladislav. Index on Censorship. 12, no.
4(1983): 3
A Voice Against the Flames.
By Robert W. Snyder
America; 9/17/2001, Vol. 185
Issue 7, p15, 2p
Provides information on the Catholic jurist in 16th Century Germany who
used all of his powers of argument
to prevent the burning of Jewish books.
Burned Any
Good Books Lately?
By Blaise Cronin. Library Journal;
2/15/2003, Vol. 128 Issue 3, p48, 1p,
Knowledge on Fire. By
Matthew Battles.
American Scholar; Summer2003,
Vol. 72 Issue 3, p35, 17p
Tremendous writing and fascinating history.
This essay is adapted from Libraries: An Unquiet History.
"Rushdie
speaks at Berlin ceremony commemorating Nazi book burning" The
Associated Press,
May 10, 1998, Sunday, AM cycle, International News, 225 words,
BERLIN
BIBLIOGRAPHIES
http://www.library.arizona.edu/exhibits/burnedbooks/sources.htm
Bibliogrpahy
on 1933 Nazi Book Burnings.
- END -
If the reader wishes to send
in other
bibliographic materials, we at FREADOM would be happy to add to this
growing
list.
send to libertas (at) dialmaine.com