In many territories, distribution, promotion, or certain translations of the Bible have historically been prohibited or impeded. See Censorship of the Bible.
Many countries throughout the world have their own methods of restricting access to books, although the prohibitions vary strikingly from one country to another: hate speech, for example, is prohibited in a number of countries, such as Sweden, though the same books may be legal in the United States or United Kingdom, where the only prohibition is on child pornography.
Despite the opposition from the American Library Association (ALA), books continue to be banned by school and public libraries across the United States. This is usually the result of complaints from parents, who find particular books not appropriate for their children (e.g., books about sexual orientation such as And Tango Makes Three). In many libraries, including the British Library and the Library of Congress, erotic books are housed in separate collections in restricted access reading rooms. In some libraries, a special application may be needed to read certain books. Libraries sometimes avoid purchasing controversial books, and the personal opinions of librarians have at times affected book selection.
Banned in Australia by the Commonwealth Customs Department in February 1963. The Literature Censorship Board described it as "continually smeared with indecent, offensive and dirty epithets and allusions," but recommended that the book remain available to "the serious minded student or reader." The ban was lifted in May 1966.
Sale and purchase was banned in the Australian State of Queensland. Now available in public libraries and for sale to people 18 years and older. Sale restricted to persons at least 18 years old in the other Australian states.
In Austria, the Verbotsgesetz 1947 prohibits the printing of the book. It is illegal to own or distribute existing copies. Following the general prohibition of advocating the Nazi Party or its aims in § 3 and of re-founding Nazi organizations in § 1, § 3 d. of the Verbotsgesetz states: "Whoever publicly or before several people, in printed works, disseminated texts or illustrations requests, encourages or seeks to induce others to commit any of the acts prohibited under § 1 or § 3, especially if for this purpose he glorifies or advertises the aims of the Nazi Party, its institutions or its actions, provided that it does not constitute a more serious criminal offense, will be punished with imprisonment from five to ten years, or up to twenty years if the offender or his actions are especially dangerous."
Banned in Bangladesh, and a few states of India. Other books by her were also banned in Bangladesh or in the Indian state of West Bengal. Amar Meyebela (My Girlhood, 2002), the first volume of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladeshi government in 1999 for "reckless comments" against Islam and the prophet Mohammad.Utal Hawa (Wild Wind), the second part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladesh government in 2002.Ka (Speak up), the third part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladeshi High Court in 2003. Under pressure from Indian Muslim activists, the book, which was published in West Bengal as Dwikhandita, was banned there also; some 3,000 copies were seized immediately. The decision to ban the book was criticised by "a host of authors" in West Bengal, but the ban was not lifted until 2005.Sei Sob Ondhokar (Those Dark Days), the fourth part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladesh government in 2004.
Banned in Belgium because this satirical novel offended fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester by making derogatory remarks about her personal looks and profession. A court decided the book was an insult to the individual's private life and ordered it to be removed from the stores.
Deals with Québec politics and society; written while the author was incarcerated. An edition published in France was not allowed into Canada; an edition was published in the US in 1971.[dead link]
Written by a newspaper reporter about the Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka case, this book allegedly contains inaccuracies, additionally, complaints were received by the St. Catharines library board from the mother of a victim that led to the book being removed from all public library branches in the city. As recently as 1999 this book was still unavailable to public library patrons in St. Catherines.
Formerly banned in the province of Hunan, China, beginning in 1931,for its portrayal of anthropomorphized animals acting on the same level of complexity as human beings. The censor General Ho Chien believed that attributing human language to animals was an insult to humans. He feared that the book would teach children to regard humans and animals on the same level, which would be "disastrous".
"Denounced by the Communists and Nationalists alike, Mr. Shen saw his writings banned in Taiwan, while mainland China publishing houses burned his books and destroyed printing plates for his novels. .... So successful was the effort to erase Mr. Shen's name from the modern literary record that few younger Chinese today recognize his name, much less the breadth of his work. Only since 1978 has the Chinese Government reissued selections of his writings, although in editions of only a few thousand copies....In China, his passing was unreported."
It sold over 100,000 copies in Taiwan and 10,000 in Hong Kong in its first month of release, but discussion of her work was banned in mainland China following the book launch.
The Sassoon Files (2019)
Sons of the Singularity
Role-playing game adventure
A book supplement for the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game set in 1920s Shanghai, all copies which had been printed and due to ship out were ordered to be destroyed by the Government of China for unspecified reasons.
Banned in Egypt and several other Arab states, and even resulted in a belated angry reaction from the clerics of Al-Azhar University upon reprinting in Egypt in the year 2000. The clerics issued a fatwa banning the novel, and accused Haidar of heresy and offending Islam. Al-Azhar University students staged huge protests against the novel, that eventually led to its confiscation.
After appearing as a successful serial in the Revue de Paris Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary went on trial in France on January 30, 1857, for "offenses against public morals", but did not succeed in court.
French officials banned it for being "obscene".
Suicide mode d'emploi (1982)
This book, reviewing recipes for committing suicide, was the cause of a scandal in France in the 1980s, resulting in the enactment of a law prohibiting provocation to commit suicide and propaganda or advertisement of products, objects, or methods for committing suicide. Subsequent reprints were thus illegal. The book was cited by name in the debates of the French National Assembly when examining the bill.
In Germany, the copyright of the book was held by the State Government of Bavaria, and the Bavarian authorities prevented any reprinting from 1945 onward. This did not affect existing copies, which were available as vintage books. In 2016, following the expiration of the copyright, Mein Kampf was republished in Germany for the first time since 1945 as a commented edition by the Institut für Zeitgeschichte.
In 1979 this book was listed by Germany's Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons as material that could not be publicly advertised or given to young readers, due to the version it presented of the events that led to World War II. This restriction was lifted in 1994, after a long legal battle.
Currently banned in Gujarat, a state in western India, for suggesting that Mahatma Gandhi had a homosexual relationship. Gujarat's state assembly voted unanimously in favour of the ban in April 2011.
Banned in Indonesia in 1950, for containing "subversive" material, including an attempt to promote Marxist–Leninist thought and other Communist theories. As of 2006, the ban is still in effect.
All Chinese literature
Literature and Culture
Presidential Instruction No. 14/1967 (Inpres No. 14/1967) on Chinese Religion, Beliefs, and Traditions effectively banned any Chinese literature in Indonesia, including the prohibition of Chinese characters.
Banned in Ireland in 1958. The Irish Censorship of Publications Board was not obliged to reveal its reason but it is believed that it was rejected for its critique of Irish republicanism and the Catholic Church, and its depiction of adolescent sexuality.
Banned in Morocco. This book is a biography of King Hassan and examines cases of torture, killing, and political imprisonment said to have been carried out by the Moroccan Government at his orders.
Initially banned in New Zealand by Office of Film & Literature Classification since it was deemed to be objectionable. In May 2008 an edited version of the book was allowed for sale if sealed and an indication of the censorship classification was displayed.
Banned in Nigeria because this three-volume memoirs of the former Nigerian president were highly critical of nearly everyone in Nigerian politics. The books were ordered to be seized by the High Court in Nigeria until a libel case had been heard in court.
The books was banned by the Portuguese government without any clear reason. According to the author, one possible reason was because he was from the "current of thought what claims that the discovery of Brazil happened 'by random'".
Banned as "pornographic and an offense to public morals"; authors charged with "abuse of the freedom of the press" and "outrage to public decency"; acquitted after the Carnation Revolution in 1974
Banned in the Roman Empire in the 330s+ for contradicting Trinitarianism. All of Arius writings were ordered burned and Arius exiled, and presumably assassinated for his writings. Banned by the Catholic Church for the next thousand plus years.
As with many holy books, the Quran has been subject to scrutiny and censorship at various points throughout history. Proposals and movements advocating outright bans of the Quran are uncommon in the West, occurring only among extremist right-wing circles. In 1985, Chandmal Chopra filed a writ Petition at the Kolkata High Court in India, trying to obtain an order banning the Quran. The most notable recent (and controversial) ban of a translated edition of the Quran happened in 2013 when a Russian court censored the text under the country's 'extremism' laws.
Completed in 1943, Orwell found that no publisher would print the book, due to its criticism of the USSR, an important ally of Britain in the War. Once published, the book was banned in the USSR and other communist countries.
Banned by the Soviet Union in 1950, as Stalin understood that it was a satire based on his leadership. It was not until 1990 that the Soviet Union legalised the book and it was re-released after editing.
After Nikita Khrushchev was removed from power in 1964, all extant and forthcoming works by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn were banned in the Soviet Union. This work details the lives of scientists forced to work in a Stalinist research center.
Collection of articles, interviews, and documents that explore the various marginal aspects of culture. It was banned in Russia in July 2006 by court order for propaganda of drug use, owing to inclusion of David Woodard's essay "The Ketamine Necromance," after its first and only Russian publication by Ultra.Kultura (Ультра.Культура). All printed copies of that Russian edition were destroyed.
Currently banned in Saudi Arabia for suggesting the Hebrews originated in Yemen and their Israelite successors established their original pre-586 B.C.E. kingdoms of Israel and Judah between Medina and Yemen.
An expanded, Spanish-language translation of A Short History of the World, discussing recent world events, was banned by Spanish censors in 1940. This edition of A Short History was not published in Spain until 1963. In two 1948 reports, Spanish censors gave a list of objections to the books's publication. These were that the book "book shows socialist inclinations, attacks the Catholic Church, gives a twisted interpretation of the Spanish Civil War and the Spanish National Movement, and contains 'tortuous concepts'." 
"Denounced by the Communists and Nationalists alike, Mr. Shen saw his writings banned in Taiwan, while mainland China publishing houses burned his books and destroyed printing plates for his novels."
In 2002, the novel was banned in the schools of the United Arab Emirates, because it contained text or images that go against Islamic values, most notably an anthropomorphic, talking pig. However, the ban has subsequently been lifted.
Banned in England in 1991 where it was found obscene; it is currently the last book to be banned in the UK. The judge ordered the remaining print run to be destroyed. The ban was lifted in the Appeal Court in July 1992 but the book remains out of print.
Banned in the US in 1821 for obscenity, then again in 1963. This was the last book ever banned by the US government. See also Memoirs v. Massachusetts. However other books have been banned since by court orders.
Banned in the Confederate States during the Civil War because of its anti-slavery content. In 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin was banned in Russia in the reign of Nicholas I because of the idea of equality it presented, and for its "undermining religious ideals."
Banned in Boston, Massachusetts, Kansas City, Missouri, Camden, New Jersey and other US cities, this novel by Sinclair deals with fanatical religiosity and hypocrisy in the United States during the 1920s by presenting a skeevy[clarification needed] preacher (the Reverend Dr. Elmer Gantry) as a protagonist who prefers easy money, booze, and "enticing young girls" to saving souls, all while converting a traveling tent revival crusade into a profitable and permanent evangelical church and radio empire for his employers. Elmer Gantry also widely denounced from pulpits across the United States at the time of its initial publication.
Banned in the US in the 1930s until the early 1960s, seized by US Customs for sexually explicit content and vulgarity. The rest of Miller's work was also banned by the US. Also banned in South Africa until the late 1980s.
An injunction was issued by a US District Court in Nevada under 26 U.S.C.§ 7408 against Irwin Schiff and associates Cynthia Neun and Lawrence Cohen, against the sale of this book by those persons as the court found that the information it contains is fraudulent
An unauthorized sequel to J. D. Salinger'sThe Catcher in the Rye. Salinger succeeded in obtaining a court injunction which indefinitely banned the publication, advertising or distribution of the book in the United States, though it has been published in other countries.
In September 2010 the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) overrode the Army's January approval for publication. The DoD then purchased and destroyed all 9,500 first edition copies, citing concerns that it contained classified information which could damage national security. The publisher, St. Martin's Press, in conjunction with the DoD created a censored second edition; which contains blacked out words, lines, paragraphs, and even portions of the index.
^Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, A History of Indian Literature in English. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2003. ISBN9781850656814 (p.139)
^Also transliterated as Angaaray, Angarey, Angaarey, Angare, or Anghare. See "Angaarey". Sangat Review of South Asian Literature. November 25, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2017. and "Progressive Writers' Association". Making Britain. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
^Lucía Pintado Gutiérrez and Alicia Castillo Villanueva, (eds.) New Approaches to Translation, Conflict and Memory : Narratives of the Spanish Civil War and the Dictatorship.Cham : Springer International Publishing : Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. ISBN9783030006983 (p. 96)
^" Franco's government censors immediately banned The Hive, which was published for the first time in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1951". "Camilo José Cela", in Michael Sollars, Arbolina Llamas Jennings, (eds.) The Facts on File Companion to the World Novel: 1900 to the Present. New York; Infobase Publishing, 2008 ISBN9781438108360 (p. 149)
^See also footnote 1, United States v. Schiff, 2008-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) paragr. 50,111 (9th Cir. 2007), citing United States v. Schiff, 379 F.3d 621, 630 (9th Cir. 2004), regarding the Court's finding that the book The Federal Mafia: How the Government Illegally Imposes and Unlawfully Collects Income Taxes constituted "fraudulent commercial speech."