Political

Political censorship predates the printing press: Socrates was executed in 399 BCE for his ideas. Books that challenge state authority, document government atrocities, or advocate for dissident ideologies have been burned, banned, and confiscated by governments of every stripe — Communist, Fascist, theocratic, and democratic. The titles in this category include some of the most important works of the 20th century, silenced precisely because they told the truth.