Obscene in the Extreme - by Rick Wartzman (Paperback)

About the Book

A bestselling author unearths the fascinating story of the banning of "The Grapes of Wrath" in the 1930s--and captures the essence of a tumultuous era.

Book Synopsis

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."

Review Quotes

Scott Martelle, "Los Angeles Times," August 31, 2008
"In these current times of bubbles and bursts, foreclosed-upon homes and entire industries confronting their own mortality, it's good to have a fresh history such as this to remind us of what has gone on before, and to assure that the times will indeed change--eventually.... The Central Valleys of the 1930s ... for many people have been reduced to emblematic photos... Wartzman puts some life on those images... A skillfully drawn reminder of the human toll of deep poverty, intolerance and the unfettered whims of those who control the purse strings."

"Metro Newspaper," September 24, 2008
"An important and illuminating new book."

"
Salinas Californian," October 4, 2008
"A fast-paced narrative.... Enlightening and well worth reading."

"Columbia Journalism Review," November/December 2008 issue
""Obscene in the Extreme" is much more than a conventional book-banning saga. It richly chronicles one of the epic tales of the 1930s, the struggle between left and right, hired hands and big farmers, migrant Okies and natives, in the towns and fields of California.... Unfailingly fair to all, Wartzman brings to life a rich cast, ranging from the radical journalist Carey McWilliams to the farm works chosen by his employers to burn a copy of "The Grapes of Wrath" on the streets."

"Minneapolis Star-Tribune," November 30, 2008
"With a novelist's skill and journalist's acumen, Wartzman uses the incident [of the book ban] as a springboard to explore the context of those turbulent times, the personalities and motivations of those involved and the notion of censorship as a politicalweapon."

"Boston Globe," December 2, 2008
"Well-researched, readable.... It's a cautionary tale, particularly relevant in light of the vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who once allegedly asked the librarian in her own small town of Wasilla, Alaska, whether censorship was all right."

"Tucson Citizen," September 9, 2008
"Highly readable...meticulously researched, well crafted and rich in historic detail."

"Booklist," September 15, 2008
"This case study of an attempt to censor John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" exposes the wrongheadedness of censorship in a way that more theoretical arguments often fail to do... This is a skillfully written, passionate book... Wartzman has really done his homework, and he tells the story dramatically, using character and dialogue to propel the narrative."


"Bakersfield Californian," September 7, 2008
"A must-read . . . compelling and well-researched."

"Cleveland Plain Dealer," September 7, 2008
"Lively . . . a snapshot of a fascinating moment in national history . . . commendable in its fairness. . . .Wartzman deserves our thanks."

"Mother Jones," September/October, 2008
"[An] engaging look at the long-forgotten campaign to quash a modern classic.... A lively account"

"The Oregonian," September 3, 2008
"Wartzman, the co-author of the excellent "The King of California: J.G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire," has written another fascinating piece of California history."

"Mother Jones," September/October 2008
"[An] engaging look at the long-forgotten campaign to quash a modern classic.... A live account"

Susan Straight, author of "A Million Nightingales"
"Rick Wartzman has made a dramatic and tension-filled narrative out of the story of how "The Grapes of Wrath" was banned in Kern County, and he has given us a chapter of our history many might not know. His new book is invaluable and exciting."

B>Susan Straight, author of "A Million Nightingales"
"Rick Wartzman has made a dramatic and tension-filled narrative out of the story of how "The Grapes of Wrath" was banned in Kern County, and he has given us a chapter of our history many might not know. His new book is invaluable and exciting."

Anthony Lewis, former "New York Times" columnist and author of "Freedom for the Thought That We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment"
"Rick Wartzman gives us a dramatic glimpse of a dark American past, where John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" is burned as obscene and farm workers are prosecuted as communists for trying to form a union. It was only 1939. Are the seeds of hate dead?"

About the Author

Rick Wartzman 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 Fortune 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 Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times. While business editor of the Times, 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.