A Short History of the World

Wells's compressed global history, written from a secular and internationalist viewpoint.

A Short History of the World is organized less as a story than as an argument. As a history, it tries to persuade readers through selection, emphasis, and direct claims about history, internationalism, and secularism.

Its significance lies in the way it compresses large claims into memorable formulas and positions. Even readers who reject the work usually have to reckon with how sharply it frames questions about history, internationalism, and secularism.

A Short History of the World entered censorship debates as a history associated with history, internationalism, and secularism. In the current dossier, the main state objections cluster around ideological control and secularism.

The earliest event currently captured here is 20th century in Spain, where Francoist censors banned circulation. Broad, secular world histories clashed with dictatorship-era ideological constraints. This shows censorship reaching well beyond fiction into narrative explanations of the world.

This entry is still incomplete: more jurisdictions, court orders, and translated justifications should be added over time.

This page is intentionally incomplete. The ban history is a starter dataset, not a final census of every jurisdiction or decree.

• The Origins of Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt

  A foundational analysis of state terror, propaganda, and ideological conformity.

• On Tyranny Timothy Snyder

  A short modern guide to resisting authoritarian politics and controlled public discourse.

• 100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature Nicholas J. Karolides, Margaret Bald, and Dawn B. Sova

  A compact reference on how censorship systems moved across states, churches, and courts.

• Banned Books: 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D. Anne Lyon Haight

  Useful for comparing older obscenity, heresy, and political bans with modern free-speech disputes.

• Wikipedia: List of books banned by governments reference partial
• Wikipedia REST summary API database partial
• Encyclopedia of Censorship book partial
• 100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature book partial
• The Origins of Totalitarianism book not started
• On Tyranny book not started
• Banned Books: 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D. book partial