As someone who has read Hitler's book (and the sequel, the so-called "Black Book"), I'd have to disagree slightly there. There are some interesting elements on the application of mass media to reinforce messages, as well as some intriguing comments on the efficacy and utility of religion (then again, my MA research was focused on Hitler's evolving perspectives on Christianity), but that is like finding a glint of a semi-precious stone buried amidst the steaming pile of turgid prose and repetitive harangues of Jews, capitalists, etc.





Books are ideas in printed, codified form. As such they are very dangerous in the hands of the untrained and unformed. I wouldn't hand Jacques Derrida's Of Grammatology to a middle school student, as the risk of misunderstanding what was going on there (if anything was going on there might be more apt ) is extremely high. Much as we'd like to argue otherwise, sometimes readers are not mature enough to process what is happening. Just as I wouldn't subject a 4 year-old to watching Faces of Death, I don't think I'd allow a 9 year-old to read Justine...at least not until mind had developed beyond concrete operational levels and perhaps not until that child's body had developed somewhat, so s/he could understand more what was going on

As for which ones, that's the tricky part, as people develop at various stages. Who should decide? Parents, foremost, then those that act in loco parentis, I suppose.



See above. I don't think complex metaphysical tracts would be suitable for those who read at the level of Dick and Jane But I guess this is just a roundabout way should there be books devoted to hot (straight/gay/bi/beastiality/masturbation/etc.) sex be made available to (pre)teens? Those perhaps are best served by being covered in teen health classes (which ought to have more rigorous standards and cover these topics, compared to the joke 5 minute assembly on how to put on a rubber when I was in HS). The Anarchist's Cookbook would fall under those books that can be dangerous for those with untrained/unformed minds. Perhaps school libraries ought to be more closely coordinated with what is to be taught in schools, so the reference materials can better reflect what students are being taught/trained to process?



I guess the I Ching is quasi-religious?

The Arabian Nights
Mein Kampf
Das Kapital

Writings by Avicenna, Plato, and Aristotle (six, I know, but still...) Oh, and each of these latter three are more likely to be overlooked in these times.



Depends on the grade level. I think all but the first are more suitable for young adults and not for middle school or younger children, due to their lack of experience and their understandings of the world being so undeveloped at that stage.


Cien años de soledad

And most of the ones I listed above, minus perhaps Das Kapital (replace with The Communist Manifesto) and Mein Kampf (to be replaced with Night for HS students).



In some ways, yes. In other ways, I think they are extremely careless in their purported mission to develop students' minds. Then again, there are so many other forces (parents, mass cultural entities, etc.) that often have a vested interest in students not developing critical thinking skills as soon as they display signs of being capable of expressing independent thought.

As for the types of books that are "unjustly censored," I could be listing examples all night and day. Anything from philosophical tracts to biographies.



To a degree, yes. Too much emphasis on linear, binary processing of texts that are more complex than that. Literature that focuses on plot and singular approaches to processing the text. Things like that.



I would reduce the over-representation of Victorian writers in favor of more Beat-era authors, due to the cultural relevance factor (that and Victorian authors are often chosen because so many stories then were virtually devoid of anything "scandalous.")



More Ginsberg, more Boom Generation authors from Latin America, more post-colonialist authors from Africa and Asia. Their voices are not heard much in schools these days.



I don't have such thoughts, so no book will be mentioned here