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Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's the Grapes
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Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's the Grapes of Wrath Paperback - 2009

by Rick Wartzman

A bestselling author unearths the fascinating story of the banning of "The Grapes of Wrath" in the 1930s--and captures the essence of a tumultuous era.


From the publisher

Few books have caused as big a stir as John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, when it was published in April 1939. By May, it was the nation's number one bestseller, but in Kern County, California -- the Joads' newfound home -- the book was burned publicly and banned from library shelves. Obscene in the Extreme tells the remarkable story behind this fit of censorship. When W. B. "Bill" Camp, a giant cotton and potato grower, presided over its burning in downtown Bakersfield, he declared: "We are angry, not because we were attacked but because we were attacked by a book obscene in the extreme sense of the word." But Gretchen Knief, the Kern County librarian, bravely fought back. "If that book is banned today, what book will be banned tomorrow?" Obscene in the Extreme serves as a window into an extraordinary time of upheaval in America -- a time when, as Steinbeck put it, there seemed to be "a revolution . . . going on."

Details

  • Title Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's the Grapes of Wrath
  • Author Rick Wartzman
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 320
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher PublicAffairs, New York, New York, U.S.A.
  • Date 2009-09-01
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9781586487676 / 1586487671
  • Weight 0.92 lbs (0.42 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.9 x 5.6 x 0.9 in (22.61 x 14.22 x 2.29 cm)
  • Themes
    • Aspects (Academic): Historical
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
    • Chronological Period: 1900-1949
  • Dewey Decimal Code 363.47

About the author

Rick Wartzman is director of the KH Moon Center for a Functioning Society at the Drucker Institute, a part of Claremont Graduate University. He also writes about the world of work for Fortune magazine online. Before joining the Drucker Institute in 2007 as its founding executive director, Rick worked for two decades as a reporter, editor and columnist at the Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times. While business editor of the Times, he helped shape a three-part series on Wal-Mart's impact on the economy and society, which won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
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Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath
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Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

by Wartzman, Rick

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Obscene in the Extreme : The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's the Grapes of Wrath
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Obscene in the Extreme : The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's the Grapes of Wrath

by Wartzman, Rick

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Obscene in the Extreme : The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's the Grapes of Wrath
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Obscene in the Extreme : The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's the Grapes of Wrath

by Wartzman, Rick

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Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

by Rick Wartzman

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Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath
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Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

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Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath
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Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's the Grapes of Wrath
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Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's the Grapes of Wrath

by Wartzman, Rick

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Obscene in the Extreme : The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

Obscene in the Extreme : The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

by Wartzman, Rick

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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New York: Public Affairs. 2008. Very Good condition. Illustrated with Black and White Photographs. 308 pages. ew books have caused as big a stir as John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath , when it was published in April 1939. By May, it was the nation's No. 1 bestseller, flying off store shelves at a rate of 10,000 copies a week. But in Kern County, California,the Joads' newfound home,the book was burned publicly and banned from library shelves. Obscene in the Extreme tells the remarkable story behind that fit of censorship, a moment when several lives collided as part of a larger class struggle roiling the nation. Robust, professional packaging and tracking provided for all parcels. . 1st Edition. Trade Paperback.
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Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

by Rick Wartzman

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Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781586487676 / 1586487671
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