In 213 BC, the great Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang buried 460 scholars alive before burning all the books in his kingdom so he could control how history would remember his reign.
Of course, since there were no books or scholars left to record the event, the exact details of this episode remain contested. But the point is, as long as books have existed there have been people trying to stop other people reading them.
Indeed, by 1982, so many books were being challenged in the United States that several free-speech organisations banded together to start Banned Books Week, which runs from 22-28 September.… Lês fierder