List of books banned by governments

Banned books are books or other printed works such as essays or plays which have been prohibited by law, or to which free access has been restricted by other means. The practice of banning books is a form of censorship, from political, legal, religious, moral, or commercial motives. This article lists notable banned books and works, giving a brief context for the reason that each book was prohibited. Banned books include fictional works such as novels, poems and plays and non-fiction works such as biographies and dictionaries.
Since there have been a large number of banned books, some publishers have sought out to publish these books. The best-known examples are the Parisian Obelisk Press, which published Henry Miller's sexually frank novel Tropic of Cancer, and Olympia Press, which published William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch. Both of these, the work of father Jack Kahane and son Maurice Girodias, specialized in English-language books which were prohibited, at the time, in Great Britain and the United States., also located in Paris, specialized in books prohibited in Spain during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Russian literature prohibited during the Soviet period was published outside of Russia.
Many countries throughout the world have their own methods of restricting access to books, although the prohibitions vary strikingly from one country to another. The following list of countries includes historical states that no longer exist.

Bible

The distribution, promotion of different Bible versions and verses or translation seen as incorrect that have been prohibited or impeded throughout its history. Violators of Bible prohibitions have at times been punished by imprisonment, forced labor, banishment and execution, as well as the destruction or confiscation of the Bibles. In most cases this was related to them being viewed as incorrect and different from the accepted canon within the religion but there are also examples of the distribution and promotion of the Bible and the religion being banned in general and are ongoing in various jurisdictions.

Austria

Title	Author	Year published	Year banned	Year unbanned	Type	Notes
The Sorrows of Young Werther	Johann Wolfgang von Goethe	1774	Unknown	Unknown	Novel	Banned by the authorities in the Austrian territories ruled by the Habsburg monarchy.
Works	Karl Marx	1841–1883	1938	1945	Nonfiction	All of Marx's works were banned in Austria after the country was annexed by Nazi Germany.
Works	Albert Einstein	1901–1938	1938	1945	Nonfiction	All of Einstein's works published up to 1938 were banned in Austria, after it was annexed by Nazi Germany.
Mein Kampf	Adolf Hitler	1925	1947		Political manifesto	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 tenyears, or up to twentyyears if the offender or his actions are especially dangerous."

Bangladesh

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Amar Fashi Chai	Motiur Rahman Rentu	1999	Political	The book, set in the political and social context of Bangladesh, was banned by the then–Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. The book describes various aspects of Sheikh Hasina's character.
Rangila Rasul	Pandit M. A. Chamupati	1927	Religious	Currently banned in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
The Satanic Verses	Salman Rushdie	1988	Novel	Banned for blasphemy against Islam. Rushdie received a fatwa for his alleged blasphemy.
Naree	Humayun Azad	1992	Criticism	Banned in Bangladesh in 1995, though the ban was later lifted in 2000.
Lajja	Taslima Nasrin	1993	Novel	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, 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, the second part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladesh government in 2002. Ka, 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 3,000copies 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, the fourth part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladesh government in 2004.

Canada

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Droll Stories	Honoré de Balzac	1837	Short stories	Banned for obscenity in 1914.
Lady Chatterley's Lover	D. H. Lawrence	1928	Novel	The unexpurgated United States edition was allowed to be imported by McClelland & Stewart in 1959. The book's status as an obscene publication was not resolved until a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1962.
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept	Elizabeth Smart	1945	Autobiographical prose poetry	Banned in Canada from 1945 to 1975 under the influence of Smart's family's political power due to its sexual documentation of Smart's affair with a married man.
The Naked and the Dead	Norman Mailer	1948	Novel	Banned in Canada in 1949 for "obscenity".
Lolita	Vladimir Nabokov	1955	Novel	Banned in Canada in 1956. The ban was not enforced on imports of the Putnam edition from the United States and was lifted in late 1958.
Peyton Place	Grace Metalious	1956	Novel	Banned in Canada from 1956 to 1958.
How to Kill	John Minnery	1973	Instructional	Banned in Canada in 1977.
The Hoax of the Twentieth Century	Arthur Butz	1976	Non-fiction	Classified as "hate literature" in Canada with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police destroying copies as recently as 1995.
The Turner Diaries	William Luther Pierce	1978	Novel	Classified as "hate literature" in Canada and subsequently banned from import into the country.
Lethal Marriage	Nick Pron	1995	True crime	Written by a newspaper reporter about the Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka case, this book allegedly contains inaccuracies, additionally, complaints were received by the 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.Catharines.
Lost Girls	Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie	2006	Graphic novel	Importation was initially prohibited on publication in 2006. The prohibition was overturned in October2006 after a formal appeal by the publisher to the Canada Border Services Agency determined the book was not legally obscene.

Egypt

Germany

Nazi Germany (1933–1945)

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Ivanhoe	Walter Scott	1819	Novel	Prohibited by Nazi Germany for featuring Jewish characters.
Oliver Twist	Charles Dickens	1839	Novel	Prohibited by Nazi Germany for featuring Jewish characters.
The Communist Manifesto	Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels	1848	Political Manifesto	Prohibited by several countries, including Nazi Germany.
Works	Stefan Zweig	1900–1933	Plays, Novels, Non-fiction	All of Zweig's books published up to 1933 were banned by the Nazis in that same year.
Works	Sigmund Freud	1901–1933	Non-fiction	All of Freud's books published up to 1933 were banned by the Nazis in that same year.
The Iron Heel	Jack London	1908	Novel	Banned by the Nazis along with two other London novels, Martin Eden and The Jacket.
Works	Bertolt Brecht	1918–1933	Plays, Novels, Poetry, Non-fiction	All of Brecht's books published up to 1933 were banned by the Nazis in that same year.
The Outline of History	H. G. Wells	1920	Non-fiction	Wells' book was banned in Nazi Germany.
The World of William Clissold	H. G. Wells	1926	Novel	Banned in Nazi Germany in 1936. A further note to the banning order added that "all other works by the author" were to be suppressed.
All Quiet on the Western Front	Erich Maria Remarque	1929	Anti-war novel	Banned in Nazi Germany for being demoralizing and insulting to the Wehrmacht.
Die Gesteinigten	Friedrich Forster	1933	Drama	Banned and printed copies pulped.
The Story of Ferdinand	Munro Leaf	1936	Children's fiction	Banned in Nazi Germany.

West Germany (1949–1990) and Germany (1990–present)

In today's Germany, a book is considered banned if it has been confiscated by a court. The distribution of a confiscated book is prohibited, but private possession and reading is still legal.
The official list of confiscated books was published by the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons in the magazine "BzKJaktuell" until the beginning of 2022.
The list of confiscated books should not be confused with books on the "List of Media Harmful to Young Persons". Books indexed by the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons are subject to strict restrictions and may only be offered and sold to adults.

List of books confiscated for violating Criminal Code 86, 86a, 130 or 130a

This list collectively lists media that violate one of the following paragraphs:

Section86: Dissemination of propaganda material of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations
Section86a: Use of symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations
Section130: Incitement of masses
Section130a: Instructions for committing criminal offences

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Auschwitz - Die Erste Vergasung - Gerüchte und Wirklichkeit	Carlo Mattogno	2007	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Mannheim Regional Court in September2012. Unofficial title translation: Auschwitz, The First Gassing, Rumors and Reality
Auschwitz - Tätergeständnisse und Augenzeugen des Holocaust	Jürgen Graf	1994	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Mannheim Regional Court in November1994. Unofficial title translation: Auschwitz - Confessions of Perpetrators and Eyewitnesses of the Holocaust
Der Auschwitz-Mythos - Legende oder Wirklichkeit	Wilhelm Stäglich	1978	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Stuttgart Regional Court in May1982. Unofficial title translation: The Auschwitz Myth - Legend or Reality
Balisong - The Lethal Art of Filipino Knife Fighting	Sid Cambell, Gary Cagaanan, Sonny Umpad, published by Paladin Press	1986	Instructional	Confiscated by the Munich Regional Court in May1991.
Black Book Companion - State-of-the Art Improvised Munitions	Published by Paladin Press	1990	Instructional	Confiscated by the Munich Regional Court in July1991.
Die Chemie von Auschwitz - Die Technologie und Toxikologie von Zyklon B und den Gaskammern - Eine Tatortuntersuchung	Germar Rudolf	2017	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Darmstadt Regional Court in March 2018. Unofficial title translation: The Chemistry of Auschwitz - The Technology and Toxicology of Zyklon B and the Gas Chambers - A Crime Scene Investigation
Cold Steel - Technique of Close Combat	John Styres, published by Paladin Press	1952	Instructional	Confiscated by the Munich Regional Court in May1991.
Deathtrap! Improvised Booby-Trap Devices	Jo Jo Gonzales, published by Paladin Press	1989	Instructional	Confiscated by the Munich Regional Court in July1991.
Dragons Touch - Weaknesses of the Human Anatomy	Master Hei Long, published by Paladin Press	1983	Instructional	Confiscated by the Munich Regional Court in May1991.
Endzeiten, Endspiele. Der Ausklang des jüdischen Jahrhunderts	Hans Schmidt	2000	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Kassel Regional Court in December2000. Unofficial title translation: End times, end games. The conclusion of the Jewish century
Geheimakte Gestapo-Müller - Dokumente und Zeugnisse aus den US-Geheimarchiven	Gregory Douglas	1995	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Starnberg Regional Court in August1996. Unofficial title translation: Secret Files Gestapo Müller - Documents and Evidence from the US Secret Archives
Geheimakte Gestapo-Müller - Dokumente und Zeugnisse aus den US-Geheimarchiven	Gregory Douglas	1996	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Starnberg Regional Court in January1999. Unofficial title translation: Secret Files Gestapo Müller - Documents and Evidence from the US Secret Archives
Get Tough! How to Win in Hand-to-Hand Fighting	William E. Fairbairn, published by Paladin Press	1942	Instructional	Confiscated by the Munich Regional Court in July1991.
Grundlagen zur Zeitgeschichte - Ein Handbuch über strittige Fragen des 20. Jahrhunderts	Germar Rudolf	1994	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Tübingen Regional Court in March1999. Unofficial title translation: Fundamentals of Contemporary History - A Handbook on Controversial Issues of the 20th Century
Der Holocaust auf dem Prüfstand - Augenzeugenberichte versus Naturgesetze	Jürgen Graf	1992	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Weinheim Regional Court in September1993. Unofficial title translation: The Holocaust under scrutiny - eyewitness accounts versus natural laws
Der Holocaust-Schwindel	Jürgen Graf	1993	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Weinheim Regional Court in September1993. Unofficial title translation: The Holocaust Hoax
Home Workshop Explosives	Uncle Fester, published by Loompanics Unlimited	1990	Instructional	Confiscated by the Munich Regional Court in July1991.
Homemade Guns and Homemade Ammo	Ronald B. Brown, published by Loompanics Unlimited	1986	Instructional	Confiscated by the Munich Regional Court in July1991.
Kardinalfragen zur Zeitgeschichte - Eine Sammlung kontroverser Stellungnahmen von Germar Rudolf alias Ernst Gauss zum herrschenden Zeitgeist in Wissenschaft, Politik, Justiz und Medien	Germar Rudolf	1996	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Weilheim Regional Court in March 1998. Unofficial title translation: Cardinal Questions on Contemporary History - A collection of controversial statements by Germar Rudolf, alias Ernst Gauss, on the prevailing zeitgeist in science, politics, justice, and the media.
Mein Kampf	Adolf Hitler	1925	Political manifesto	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. An uncommented reprint was confiscated by the Forchheim Regional Court in October 2016 for Incitement of masses. Annotated editions are not affected by the confiscation.
The Poisoner's Handbook	Maxwell Hutchkinson, published by Loompanics Unlimited	1988	Instructional	Confiscated by the Munich Regional Court in May1991.
Silent Death	Uncle Fester, published by Loompanics Unlimited	1989	Instructional	Confiscated by the Munich Regional Court in May1991.
Todesursache Zeitgeschichtsforschung	Jürgen Graf	1995	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Mannheim Regional Court in January 1996. Unofficial title translation: Cause of death: Contemporary history research
Vorlesungen über den Holocaust - Strittige Fragen im Kreuzverhör	Germar Rudolf	2005	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Mannheim Regional Court in March 2007. Unofficial title translation: Lectures on the Holocaust - Controversial Questions in Cross-Examination
Wahrheit sagen, Teufel jagen	Gerard Menuhin	2016	Historical revisionism / Holocaust denial	Confiscated by the Schleswig Regional Court in February 2019. Unofficial title translation: Wahrheit sagen, Teufel jagen

List of books confiscated for violating Criminal Code 131

This list contains media that violate the following paragraph:

Section131: Depictions of violence

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Deep Wet Torture Handbook - Die 100 besten Frauenfolterfilme	Andreas Bethmann	2003	Catalog	Confiscated by the Neuburg an der Donau Regional Court in May2007. Unofficial title translation: Deep Wet Torture Handbook - The 100 Best Female Torture Films
-	-	-	Catalog	-
-	-	-	Catalog	-

Indonesia

Iran

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
The Satanic Verses	Salman Rushdie	1988	Novel	Banned for blasphemy against Islam.
The Gods Laugh on Mondays	Reza Khoshnazar	1995	Novel	Was banned in Iran after men torched its publication house.
23 Years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammad	Ali Dashti	1974	biographical book	Considered banned and highly controversial in Iran due to critical examination of the life of Muhammad; led to the author's arrest and death sentence by revolutionary court.
The Zahir	Paulo Coelho	2005	novel	Banned in Iran; Coelho's works faced censorship and prohibition by Iranian authorities in the mid‑2000s.

Ireland

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Christianity not Mysterious	John Toland	1696	Non-fiction	Banned by the Irish Parliament for contradicting the teaching of the Anglican Church. Copies of the book were burnt by the public hangman in Dublin.
Droll Stories	Honoré de Balzac	1837	Short stories	Banned for obscenity in 1953. The ban was lifted in 1967.
Married Love	Marie Stopes	1918	Non-fiction	Banned by the Irish Censorship Board for discussing birth control.
And Quiet Flows the Don	Mikhail Sholokhov	1928–1940	Novel sequence	The English translations of Sholokhov's work were banned for "indecency".
Elmer Gantry	Sinclair Lewis	1927	Novel	Elmer Gantry was banned in the Irish Free State.
The House of Gold	Liam O'Flaherty	1929	Novel	The first book to be banned by the Irish Free State for alleged "indecency". Republished in 2013.
A Farewell to Arms	Ernest Hemingway	1929	Novel	Suppressed in the Irish Free State.
Marriage and Morals	Bertrand Russell	1929	Non-fiction	Suppressed in the Irish Free State for discussing sex education, birth control and open marriages.
Commonsense and the Child	Ethel Mannin	1931	Non-fiction	Banned in the Irish Free State for advocating sex education for adolescents.
The Bulpington of Blup	H. G. Wells	1932	Novel	Banned in the Irish Free State.
Brave New World	Aldous Huxley	1932	Novel	Banned in Ireland in 1932, allegedly because of references of sexual promiscuity.
The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind	H. G. Wells	1932	Non-fiction	Banned in the Irish Free State.
Men of Good Will	Jules Romains	1932–1946	Novel sequence	The English translations of Romains' novel sequence were banned in the Irish Free State.
The Martyr	Liam O'Flaherty	1933	Novel	Banned in the Irish Free State.
The Laws of Life	Halliday Sutherland	1935	Non-fiction	Banned in the Irish Free State for discussing sex education and – even though The Laws of Life had been granted a Cum permissu superiorum endorsement by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster.
Honourable Estate	Vera Brittain	1936	Novel	Banned in the Irish Free State.
I Knock at the Door	Seán O'Casey	1939	Autobiography	Banned in Ireland.
Dutch Interior	Frank O'Connor	1940	Novel	Banned in Ireland.
The Tailor and Ansty	Eric Cross	1942	Non-fiction	Banned by the Irish censors for discussing sexuality in rural Ireland.
Borstal Boy	Brendan Behan	1958	Autobiographical novel	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.
The Country Girls	Edna O'Brien	1960	Novel	Banned by Ireland's censorship board in 1960 for its explicit sexual content.
The Lonely Girl	Edna O'Brien	1962	Novel	Banned in Ireland in 1962 after Archbishop John Charles McQuaid complained personally to Justice Minister Charles Haughey that it "was particularly bad".
The Dark	John McGahern	1965	Novel	Banned in Ireland for obscenity.
My Secret Garden	Nancy Friday	1973	Non-fiction	Banned in Ireland for its sexual content.

Israel

All books originating from Syria or Iraq are banned in Israel.

Kuwait

Malaysia

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
The Satanic Verses	Salman Rushdie	1988	Novel	Banned for blasphemy against Islam.
Onward Muslim Soldiers	Robert B. Spencer	2003	Nonfiction	On July 12, 2007, the government of Malaysia announced a ban on Spencer's book, citing "confusion and anxiety among the Muslims" as the cause.
Fifty Shades Trilogy	E. L. James	2011–2012	Novel	The entire trilogy was banned in Malaysia from 2015 for containing "sadistic" material and "threat to morality".
The Mask of Sanity	Jacob M. Appel	2017	Novel	Banned pre-emptively in Malaysia for blasphemy.
Rebirth: Reformasi, Resistance, and Hope in New Malaysia	Kean Wong	2020	Nonfiction	Banned for containing insulting elements to the Malaysian coat of arms which is likely to be prejudicial to public order, security, national interest, alarm public opinion and contrary to any law, and therefore is "absolutely prohibited throughout Malaysia".
Gay is OK! A Christian Perspective	Boon Lin Ngeo	2013	Nonfiction	Banned for attempting to promote homosexual culture in Malaysia, which goes against religious and cultural sensitivities in the country. In 2022, the ban was challenged through a judicial review petition in High Court of Kuala Lumpur. The court quashed the ban and ordered the Home Ministry of Malaysia to pay RM5000 to the author.
Peichi	Ma. Naveen	2020	Novel	Banned for containing pornographic and immoral content. Notably, it was the first Tamil language publication to be banned in the country.
A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime	Monica Murphy	2022	Novel	The ministry explained on January 7, 2025, that the ban is part of a preventive measure to stop the spread of ideologies and movements that conflict with Malaysia's multicultural values.
Lose You to Find Me	Erik J. Brown	2023	Novel	The ministry explained on January 7, 2025, that the ban is part of a preventive measure to stop the spread of ideologies and movements that conflict with Malaysia's multicultural values.
Punai	Asyraf Bakti	2022	Novel	The ministry explained on January 7, 2025, that the ban is part of a preventive measure to stop the spread of ideologies and movements that conflict with Malaysia's multicultural values.
Scattered Showers	Rainbow Rowell	2022	Novel	The ministry explained on January 7, 2025, that the ban is part of a preventive measure to stop the spread of ideologies and movements that conflict with Malaysia's multicultural values.
When Everything Feels Like The Movie	Raziel Reid	2014	Novel	The ministry explained on January 7, 2025, that the ban is part of a preventive measure to stop the spread of ideologies and movements that conflict with Malaysia's multicultural values.
What If It's Us	Becky Albertalli and Adam Silverra	2018	Novel	The ministry explained on January 7, 2025, that the ban is part of a preventive measure to stop the spread of ideologies and movements that conflict with Malaysia's multicultural values.
My Shadow is Purple	Scott Stuart	2022	Fiction	Banned for attempting to promote homosexual culture in Malaysia, which goes against religious and cultural sensitivities in the country. The home ministry said these books have been banned under Section7 of Act301 as they are considered 'undesirable publications' on, and was later publicly announced on February8.
Koleksi Puisi Masturbasi	Benz Ali	2015	Poetry	Banned for its suggestive name and immoral content. The home ministry said these books have been banned under Section7 of Act 301 as they are considered 'undesirable publications' on, and was later publicly announced on February8.
All That's Left in the World	Erik J. Brown	2022	Novel	Banned for attempting to promote homosexual culture in Malaysia, which goes against religious and cultural sensitivities in the country. The home ministry said these books have been banned under Section7 of Act301 as they are considered 'undesirable publications' on, and was later publicly announced on February8.

Netherlands

New Zealand

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Lolita	Vladimir Nabokov	1955	Novel	Banned for being "obscene"; uncensored in 1964.
Borstal Boy	Brendan Behan	1958	Autobiographical novel	Banned shortly after its ban in Ireland in 1958. It was allowed to be published in New Zealand in 1963.
The Peaceful Pill Handbook	Philip Nitschke and Fiona Stewart	2007	Instructional manual on euthanasia	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.
Into the River	Ted Dawe	2012	Novel	Banned in New Zealand in 2015; subsequently unrestricted in the same year.

Pakistan

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Satyarth Prakash	Dayananda Saraswati	1875	Religious text	Swami Dayananda's religious text Satyarth Prakash was banned in some princely states and in Sindh in 1944 and is still banned in Sindh.
Rangila Rasul	Pt.Chamupati	1927	Religious	Currently banned in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Jinnah of Pakistan	Stanley Wolpert	1982	Biography	Banned in 1984 by the military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's government because of some 'offending passages'. Ban lifted in 1989 by the next democratic government.
The Satanic Verses	Salman Rushdie	1988	Novel	Banned for blasphemy against Islam.
The Truth About Muhammad	Robert Spencer	2006	Nonfiction	On December 20, 2006, the government of Pakistan announced a ban on Spencer's book, citing "objectionable material" as the cause.

Philippines

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Noli Me Tángere	Jose Rizal	1887	Novel	Banned by Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines due to being critical to the Spanish government.
El Filibusterismo	Jose Rizal	1891	Novel	Banned by Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines due to being critical to the Spanish government.
The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos	Primitivo Mijares	1976	Non-fiction	Banned for during the Martial Law period due to being critical of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos.
The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos	Carmen Pedrosa		Biography	Banned in 1972, shortly after the start of the Martial Law period under President Ferdinand Marcos. The "unauthorized" biography was banned for the depiction of First Lady Imelda Marcos' extravagance.
Tawid diwa sa pananagisag ni Bienvenido Lumbera: Ang Bayan, ang Nanunulat at ang Magasing Sagisag sa Imahinatibong Yugto ng Batas Militar 1975–1979	Dexter Cayanes			Research on the literary works by Bienvenido Lumbera, who was imprisoned during the Martial Law period under President Ferdinand Marcos. Banned in 2022 by the Commission on the Filipino Language from public libraries and schools for being "antigovernment".
Teatro Political Dos	Malou Jacob			Banned in 2022 by the Commission on the Filipino Language from public libraries and schools for being "antigovernment". The works are previously published under the auspices of the KWF.
Kalatas: Mga Kuwentong Bayan at Kuwentong Buhay	Rommel Rodriguez			Banned in 2022 by the Commission on the Filipino Language from public libraries and schools for being "antigovernment". The works are previously published under the auspices of the KWF.
May Hadlang ang Umaga	Don Pagusara			Banned in 2022 by the Commission on the Filipino Language from public libraries and schools for being "antigovernment". The works are previously published under the auspices of the KWF.
Labas: Mga Palabas ng Sentro	Reuel Aguilla			Banned in 2022 by the Commission on the Filipino Language from public libraries and schools for being "antigovernment

Roman Empire

Russia

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Quran	Unknown		Religious text	In 2013, a Russian court in Novorossiysk banned a translation of the Quran by Elmir Kuliyev under the country's 'extremism' laws. The ban was soon overturned.
Rights of Man	Thomas Paine	1791	Political theory	Banned in Tsarist Russia after the Decembrist revolt.
The Communist Manifesto	Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels	1848	Political Manifesto	Prohibited by several countries, including Tsarist Russia.
Looking Backward	Edward Bellamy	1888	Novel	Prohibited by the Tsarist Russian censors.
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion	Unknown	1903	A forgery, portraying a Jewish conspiracy to take over the world	Banned in various libraries and many attempts to ban in various nations, such as in Russia.
Mein Kampf	Adolf Hitler	1925	Political manifesto	Banned in the Russian Federation as extremist.
Apocalypse Culture	Adam Parfrey	1987	Non-fiction	Collection of articles, interviews and documents exploring various marginal aspects of 20th century culture. In 2006, shortly after Ultra.Kultura published a Russian edition combining Apocalypse Culture and Apocalypse Culture II as a single volume titled Культура времен Апокалипсиса, the volume was banned by Kremlin decree.
Siege	James Mason	1992	Non-fiction	Anthology of essays advocating for neo-Nazi revolution through terrorism. Banned on.

Soviet Union

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Works	Friedrich Nietzsche	1872–1901	Non-fiction	Banned in Soviet Union since 1923 on proposal of Nadezhda Krupskaya. All works were placed on the list of forbidden books and kept in libraries only for restricted, authorized use.
Animal Farm	George Orwell	1945	Political novella	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.
Nineteen Eighty-Four	George Orwell	1949	Novel	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.
Doctor Zhivago	Boris Pasternak	1955–1988	Novel	Banned in the Soviet Union until 1988 for criticizing life in Russia after the Russian Revolution. When its author, Boris Pasternak, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958, he was forced to reject it under government pressure.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich	Alexander Solzhenitsyn	1962	Novel	Banned from publication in the Soviet Union in 1964.
The First Circle	Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn	1968	Novel	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.
The [Gulag Archipelago]	Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn	1973	Non-fiction	Banned in the Soviet Union because it went against the image the Soviet Government tried to project of itself and its policies. However, it has been available in the former Soviet Union since at least the 1980s. In 2009, the Education Ministry of Russia added The Gulag Archipelago to the curriculum for high-school students.

Singapore

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Value, Price and Profit	Karl Marx	1865	Nonfiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Origin of Family, Private Property and State	Friedrich Engels	1884	Nonfiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back	Vladimir Lenin	1904	Nonfiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Theories of Surplus Value	Karl Marx	1905	Nonfiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Two Tactics of Social Democracy in the Democratic Revolution	Vladimir Lenin	1905	Nonfiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Anarchism or Socialism?	Joseph Stalin	1907	Nonfiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Fundamental Problems of Marxism	Georgi Plekhanov	1908	Political pamphlet	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Heroines of the Modern Progress	Elmer C. Adams	1913	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
The Right of Nations to Self-Determination	Vladimir Lenin	1914	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
What Is to Be Done?	Vladimir Lenin	1917	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism	Vladimir Lenin	1917	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
State and Revolution	Vladimir Lenin	1917	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky	Vladimir Lenin	1918	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Friedrich Engels: A Biography	Gustav Mayer	1920	Biography	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
"Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder	Vladimir Lenin	1920	Nonfiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
On Cooperation	Vladimir Lenin	1923	Nonfiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Problems of Leninism	Joseph Stalin	1926	Nonfiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Time, Forward!	Valentin Kataev	1932	Novel	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
How the Steel Was Tempered	Nikolai Ostrovsky	1936	Novel	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Marxism and the National and Colonial Question	Joseph Stalin	1937	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Combat Liberalism	Mao Zedong	1937	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
The A to Z of the Soviet Union	Alex Page	1946	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Aspects of China's Anti-Japanese Struggle	Mao Zedong	1948	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
The Case for Communism	William Gallacher	1949	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Twilight of World Capitalism	William Z. Foster	1949	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
Concerning Marxism in Linguistics	Joseph Stalin	1950	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
The Social and State Structure of the USSR	Alexander Karpinsky	1952	Non-fiction	Banned under the Internal Security Order.
The Satanic Verses	Salman Rushdie	1988	Novel	Banned in 1989 for blasphemy against Islam.
What Islam Is All About	Yahiya Emerick	1997	Religious education	Banned in 2018 for "promoting enmity among different religious communities".
The Wisdom of Jihad	Abuhuraira Abdurrahman	2005	Non-fiction	Banned in 2018 for "promoting enmity among different religious communities".
Things that Nullify One's Islaam	Shaykh alIslaam Muhammad ibn 'AbdilWahhaab	2013	Non-fiction	Banned in 2018 for "promoting enmity among different religious communities".
Red Lines: Political Cartoons and the Struggle Against Censorship	Cherian George and Sonny Liew	2021	Non-fiction	Banned in 2021 for offensive content against Muslims.

South Africa

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Frankenstein	Mary Shelley	1818	Novel	Banned in apartheid South Africa in 1955 for containing "obscene" or "indecent" material.
"The Lottery"	Shirley Jackson	1948	Short story	Banned in South Africa during Apartheid.
Lolita	Vladimir Nabokov	1955	Novel	Banned for being "obscene"; this ban was lifted in 1982.
A World of Strangers	Nadine Gordimer	1958	Novel	Banned in South Africa because of its criticism of Apartheid.
Why We Can't Wait	Martin Luther King Jr.	1964	Non-fiction	Banned in South Africa because of its criticism of white supremacy.
The First Book of Africa	Langston Hughes	1964	Nonfiction; Children's book	Banned in South Africa for its celebration of Black African culture.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X	Malcolm X with Alex Haley	1965	Non-fiction	Banned in South Africa because of its criticism of white supremacy.
Black Power: The Politics of Liberation	Stokely Carmichael and Charles V. Hamilton	1967	Non-fiction	Banned in South Africa because of its criticism of white supremacy.
Soul on Ice	Eldridge Cleaver	1968	Non-fiction	Banned in South Africa because of its criticism of white supremacy, and its sexual content.
The Satanic Bible	Anton LaVey	1969	Religious text	Banned during apartheid in South Africa from 1973 to 1993 for moral reasons.
The Struggle Is My Life	Nelson Mandela	1978	Non-fiction	Banned in Apartheid South Africa until 1990.
Burger's Daughter	Nadine Gordimer	1979	Novel	Banned in South Africa in July 1979 for going against the government's racial policies; the ban was reversed in October of the same year.
July's People	Nadine Gordimer	1981	Novel	Banned during the Apartheid-era in South Africa. July's People is now included in the South African school curriculum.

South Korea

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Year 501: The Conquest Continues	Noam Chomsky	2000	Politics	Banned from distribution within the South Korean military as part of 23 books banned on, by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense in response to intelligence suggesting a bookdistribution campaign to activeduty soldiers by the proNorth Korean Hanchongnyon. The books were classified into three categories: 11 for praise of North Korea, 10 for antigovernment/antiAmerican content, and two for anticapitalism.
What Uncle Sam Really Wants	Noam Chomsky	2007	Politics	Banned from distribution within the South Korean military as part of 23 books banned on, by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense in response to intelligence suggesting a bookdistribution campaign to activeduty soldiers by the proNorth Korean Hanchongnyon. The books were classified into three categories: 11 for praise of North Korea, 10 for antigovernment/antiAmerican content, and two for anticapitalism.
Guerillas of the Kingdom of Samsung	Pressian	2008	Politics	Banned from distribution within the South Korean military as part of 23 books banned on, by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense in response to intelligence suggesting a bookdistribution campaign to activeduty soldiers by the proNorth Korean Hanchongnyon. The books were classified into three categories: 11 for praise of North Korea, 10 for antigovernment/antiAmerican content, and two for anticapitalism.
Auf Der Universität	Theodor Storm	1999	Politics	Banned from distribution within the South Korean military as part of 23 books banned on, by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense in response to intelligence suggesting a bookdistribution campaign to activeduty soldiers by the proNorth Korean Hanchongnyon. The books were classified into three categories: 11 for praise of North Korea, 10 for antigovernment/antiAmerican content, and two for anticapitalism.
The Global Trap	Hans-Peter Martin and Harald Schumann	2003	Politics	Banned from distribution within the South Korean military as part of 23 books banned on, by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense in response to intelligence suggesting a bookdistribution campaign to activeduty soldiers by the proNorth Korean Hanchongnyon. The books were classified into three categories: 11 for praise of North Korea, 10 for antigovernment/antiAmerican content, and two for anticapitalism.
Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism	Ha-Joon Chang	2007	Nonfiction	Banned from distribution within the South Korean military as part of 23 books banned on, by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense in response to intelligence suggesting a bookdistribution campaign to activeduty soldiers by the proNorth Korean Hanchongnyon. The books were classified into three categories: 11 for praise of North Korea, 10 for antigovernment/antiAmerican content, and two for anticapitalism.
One Spoon on This Earth		1999	Novel	Banned from distribution within the South Korean military as part of 23 books banned on, by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense in response to intelligence suggesting a bookdistribution campaign to activeduty soldiers by the proNorth Korean Hanchongnyon. The books were classified into three categories: 11 for praise of North Korea, 10 for antigovernment/antiAmerican content, and two for anticapitalism.
Slots	Shin Gyeong-jin	2007	Novel	Banned as part of 19 books added in August 2011 to the 2008 banned book list, all belonging to the 'anticapitalism' category.
Respect: Everything a Guy Needs to Know About Sex	Inti Chavez Perez	2020	Nonfiction	Banned from distribution to readers below the age of 19 through schools, libraries and book stores in 2024 by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The book was reported to authorities as part of a campaign against books on sex education.

Spain

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Works	Johannes Kepler	1596–1634	Non-fiction	Banned by Habsburg Monarchy of Spain for perceived heresy.
Works	Voltaire	1727–1778	Novels, Plays, Non-fiction	Voltaire's entire body of work was banned by the Bourbon Monarchy of Spain, after it was condemned by the Spanish Inquisition.
Works	Vicente Blasco Ibáñez	1892–1928	Novels, Nonfiction	All of Blasco Ibáñez's books were banned by the Franco government in 1939.
A [Short History of the World (Wells book)\|A Short History of the World]	H. G. Wells	1922	Non-fiction	An expanded, Spanishlanguage 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 "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'."
Ulysses	James Joyce	1922	Novel	The complete 1945 Spanishlanguage translation of Ulysses was suppressed by the Spanish authorities until 1962.
The Story of Ferdinand	Munro Leaf	1936	Children's fiction	Banned in Francoist Spain.
Homage to Catalonia	George Orwell	1938	Non-fiction	Banned in Francoist Spain for its support of the Republican faction during the Spanish Civil War.
For Whom the Bell Tolls	Ernest Hemingway	1940	Novel	Suppressed by the Spanish authorities until 1968.
Works	Federico García Lorca	1939	Poetry, drama	Banned until 1954; published in Argentina.
You Can't Be Too Careful	H. G. Wells	1941	Novel	Banned in Francoist Spain for criticizing Christianity, and for mentioning the Bombing of Guernica by the Axis air forces.
The Spanish Labyrinth	Gerald Brenan	1943	Non-fiction	Banned in Francoist Spain because of its strong criticism of the Nationalist Faction's actions during the Spanish Civil War.
The Second Sex	Simone de Beauvoir	1949	Non-fiction	Banned in Francoist Spain for its advocacy of feminism.
The Hive	Camilo José Cela	1950	Fiction	Banned by censors of Francoist Spain.
The Spanish Civil War	Hugh Thomas	1961	Non-fiction	Banned by censors of Francoist Spain for its negative depiction of the Nationalist Faction during the Civil War, and its critique of the Franco regime.
The Death of Lorca	Ian Gibson	1971	Biography	Banned briefly in Spain.

Thailand

United Kingdom

United States

Title	Author	Year published	Year unbanned	Type	Notes
The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption	William Pynchon	1650	Unknown	Religious critique	The first book banned in the New World. Pynchon, a prominent leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who, in 1636, founded the City of Springfield, Massachusetts, wrote this explicit critique of Puritanism, published in London in 1650. That year, several copies made their way back to the New World. Pynchon, who resided in Springfield, was unaware that his book suffered the New World's first book burning, on the Boston Common. Accused of heresy by the Massachusetts General Court, Pynchon quietly transferred ownership of the Connecticut River Valley's largest landholdings to his son, and then suffered indignities as he left the New World for England. It was the first work banned in Boston.
Fanny Hill or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure	John Cleland	1748	1959 and 1966	Novel	Banned in the U.S. in 1821 for obscenity, then again in 1963. This was the last book ever banned by the U.S. government. U.S. obscenity laws were overturned in 1959 by the Supreme Court in Kingsley Pictures Corp. v. Regents. See also Memoirs v. Massachusetts.
Candide	Voltaire	1759	1959	Novel	Seized by U.S. Customs in 1930 for obscenity. U.S. obscenity laws were overturned in 1959 by the Supreme Court in Kingsley Pictures Corp. v. Regents.
Uncle Tom's Cabin	Harriet Beecher Stowe	1852	1865	Novel	Banned in the Confederate States during the Civil War because of its antislavery content.
Elmer Gantry	Sinclair Lewis	1927	1959	Novel	Banned in Boston, Massachusetts, Kansas City, Missouri, Camden, New Jersey, and other U.S. cities, this novel by Sinclair focused on religiosity and hypocrisy in the United States during the 1920s by depicting a preacher as a protagonist who preferred easy money, alcohol, and "enticing young girls" to saving souls, 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. U.S. obscenity laws were overturned in 1959 by the Supreme Court in Kingsley Pictures Corp. v. Regents.
Lady Chatterley's Lover	D. H. Lawrence	1928	1959	Novel	Temporarily banned in the United States for violation of obscenity laws; the ban was lifted in 1959.
Tropic of Cancer	Henry Miller	1934	1964	Novel	Banned in the U.S. 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 U.S. Also banned in South Africa until the late 1980s.
The Grapes of Wrath	John Steinbeck	1939	Unknown	Novel	Was temporarily banned in many places in the U.S. In the state of California in which it was partially set, it was banned for its alleged unflattering portrayal of residents of the area.
Forever Amber	Kathleen Winsor	1944	Unknown	Novel	Banned in fourteen states in the U.S. Ban was lifted by an appeals court judge.
Memoirs of Hecate County	Edmund Wilson	1946	1959	Novel	Banned in the state of New York by the Supreme Court.
Howl	Allen Ginsberg	1955	1957	Poem	Copies of the first edition seized by San Francisco Customs for obscenity in March 1957; after trial, obscenity charges were dismissed.
Naked Lunch	William S. Burroughs	1959	1966	Novel	Banned by Boston courts in 1962 for obscenity, but that decision was reversed in 1966 by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense	Robert McNamara and the United States Department of Defense	1971	Injunction lifted in 1971, declassified in 2011	Government study	Also known as the Pentagon Papers. U.S. President Nixon attempted to suspend publication of classified information. The restraint was lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 6–3 decision. See also New York Times Co. v. United States.
The Federal Mafia	Irwin Schiff	1992	Available for free, but denied for sale as deceptive commercial speech, appeal affirmed in 2004.	Non-fiction	An injunction was issued by a US District Court in Nevada under 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.
Operation Dark Heart –		2010	In 2013, 198 of 433redactions of classified material reinstated. In 2015, testimony to Congress was permitted.	Memoir	In September 2010, the United States Department of Defense overrode the Army's January approval for publication. The DoD then purchased and destroyed all 9,500first 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 second, redacted edition; which contains blacked out words, lines, paragraphs, and portions of the index.

Vietnam

Title	Author	Year published	Type	Notes
Animal Farm	George Orwell	1945	Political commentary	Vietnamese translations are banned on the grounds of "promoting false socialism ideology"
Nineteen Eighty-Four	George Orwell	1949	Political novella	The book was unable to get certification for publication, thus making it banned in Vietnam.
Mourning Headband for Hue: An Account of the Battle for Hue, Vietnam 1968	Nhã Ca	1969	Non-fiction	The book was banned for its criticism of the actions of the national liberation front and for acknowledging the 1968 Huế massacre
Paradise of the Blind	Dương Thu Hương	1988	Novel, Literary fiction	Banned in Vietnam for criticism on the political party in control.
No Man's Land	Dương Thu Hương	2005	Novel, Literary fiction	Banned in Vietnam for criticism of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
Politics for Everyone	Phạm Đoan Trang	2017	Non-fiction	Banned in Vietnam on the grounds of political sensitivity.
The Road To Serfdom	Friedrich Hayek	1944	Political philosophy	Banned due to criticism of the socialist state, especially the planned economy which would inevitably lead to totalitarianism.
A Tale for 2000	Bùi Ngọc Tuấn	2000	Political commentary	The author talked about his experience being imprisoned in a "Vietnamese Gulag" for "Anti-revolutionary propaganda" The book was banned with all copies ordered to be destroyed following the Decision No.395 Regulation of the then Ministry of Culture and Information for violating Clauses1 and 2 of the Article33, Publishing Law which prohibits works criticising the Vietnamese Communist Party and propaganda going against the interests of the state.
The Winning Side	Huy Đức	2012	Non-fiction	Due to publications within Vietnam had refused to publish, the author decided to print himself and released it on Amazon. Although it has not been officially banned, the Vietnamese government had seized and question those who had them. This book was considered to be significant as it has provided insights that scholars had never seen before, while it had received a lot of criticism from Vietnamese state media.
A Dusty Wind	Trần Trọng Kim	2017	Biography, political commentary	Banned in Vietnam for being "inappropriate, not objective, and containing unverified information" thus violating the Vietnamese Publishing Law, which tends to happen to the biographies of historical characters deemed to be "controversial" by the government.
A Handbook of How to Support Prisoners of Conscience	Phạm Đoan Trang	2019	Non-fiction	Banned in Vietnam on the grounds of political sensitivity.
Politics of the police state	Phạm Đoan Trang	2019	Non-fiction	Banned in Vietnam on the grounds of political sensitivity.
Dong Tam report	Phạm Đoan Trang	2020	Non-fiction	Banned in Vietnam on the grounds of political sensitivity. The book tell story about families killed by the Vietnamese State in land dispute.
Safeguard defenders: Crime must be punished. How to use Magnitsky law to punish human rights violators.	Phạm Đoan Trang	2020	Non-fiction	Banned in Vietnam on the grounds of political sensitivity.