The banning of books has its origins as far back as 450 B.C. Since that time society has grown and changed and the fine line between what one people considers literature and what another considers offensive. Some of the most controversial books in history are now regarded as classics. The Bible and works by Shakespeare are among those that have been banned over the past two thousand years.  One of the most recognized book burnings “bonfires of the vanities” Which were instigated by Savonarola a Florentine a religious fanatic with an immense following, during the time of 1497–98 was one of the most renowned and influential of all censors.

In these years, because of his censorship books and paintings by some of the greatest artists of Florence were destroyed. In 1525: Six thousand copies of William Tyndale’s English translation of the New Testament were burned by the English church. Church authorities were determined that the Bible would be available only in Latin. William Shakespeare’s Richard II contained a scene in which the king was removed from his throne. Queen Elizabeth I was so angry that she ordered the scene removed from all copies of the play in 1597.

More recently challenged books have been:

• The Adventures of Mark Twain by Tom Sawyer Reasons: full of racially charged language.
• The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence
• Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Anne Frank. Reasons: sexually offensive" passages,
• The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling Reason: Promoting Witchcraft.
  Censorship and book banning strips us of our first amendment rights.