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9781586487676

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Scott Martelle, Los Angeles Times, August 31, 2008<br> 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. <br> <p><br> Metro Newspaper, September 24, 2008<br> An important and illuminating new book. <br> <p> <br> Salinas Californian, October 4, 2008<br> A fast-paced narrative.... Enlightening and well worth reading. <br> <p><br> Columbia Journalism Review, November/December 2008 issue<br> 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. <br> <p><br> Minneapolis Star-Tribune, November 30, 2008<br> 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. <br> <p><br> Boston Globe, December 2, 2008<br> 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.

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.

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Rick Wartzman is the Director of the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University in California and a fellow of the New America Foundation. He is the co-author, with Mark Arax, of The King of California: J.G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire.

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