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

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." Few books have caused as big a stir as John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. A month after it was published in April 1939, it stood as the nation's No. 1 best seller. And by summer in Kern County, California -- the Joads' newfound home -- the book was burned publicly and banned from local schools and library shelves. Obscene in the Extreme tells the remarkable story behind this fit of censorship. It all begins as Kern County librarian Gretchen Knief returns home from vacation to discover the Board of Supervisors voting to suppress Steinbeck's novel. When agribusiness titan W.B. "Bill" Camp presides over the book's torching in downtown Bakersfield a few days later, he declares, "We are angry, not because we were attacked, but because we were attacked by a book obscene in the extreme sense of the word." Yet Knief bravely fights back: "If that book is banned today, what book will be banned tomorrow?" Obscene in the Extreme is fast-paced and sharply focused, with a narrative that unfolds over the course of a single week. But its backdrop is monumental. The backlash to the publication of The Grapes of Wrath -- a book praised by Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and seared into the public's consciousness by the lyrics of Woody Guthrie and the on-screen performance of Henry Fonda -- serves as a window into an extraordinary time of upheaval in America. - Jacket flap. "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.'"--Publisher's description 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 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. It is a superb historical narrative that serves as an engaging window into an extraordina Describes how a great conflict arose in Kern County, California, as a giant cotton grower and a determined librarian went head-to-head over the issue of censorship, with public burnings of this masterpiece at center stage. Dark days Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday, Saturday, Sunday Some day Rick Wartzman. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 285-292) And Index.