{"product_id":"obscene-in-the-extreme-the-burning-and-banning-of-john-steinbecks-the-grapes-of-wrath-9781586487676","title":"Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's the Grapes of Wrath","description":"Few books have caused as big a stir as John Steinbeck's \u003ci\u003eThe Grapes of Wrath\u003c\/i\u003e, 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. \u003ci\u003eObscene in the Extreme\u003c\/i\u003e tells the remarkable story behind this fit of censorship. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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?\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eObscene in the Extreme\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRick Wartzman\u003c\/b\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003eFortune\u003c\/i\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e. While business editor of the \u003ci\u003eTimes\u003c\/i\u003e, 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.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"PublicAffairs","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50357197013266,"sku":"9781586487676","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_12c17d76-b06d-4c3d-b69a-f7d3c04998c1.jpg?v=1728320423","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/obscene-in-the-extreme-the-burning-and-banning-of-john-steinbecks-the-grapes-of-wrath-9781586487676","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}