Books That Were Banned in the Past Century

5. Catcher in the Rye (1951)

Author: J.D. Salinger

It’s hard to believe that this American literature classic was only relieved of the American Library Association’s banned list in 2006, but if anything, its controversial nature only made it more important in the classrooms. The story of an anxiety filled teenager who escapes his boarding school to spend some time in New York City was first censured because of its sexual content and profane language in 1951. The controversy caught on quickly, and from 1961 to 1982, the book became the most censured in high schools throughout the United States.