State intervention in the public exchange of ideas remains one of the most controversial - and effective - tools of power in the modern world. Whether in totalitarian regimes or democratic societies, whether by direct action or threat of action, governments around the world set boundaries on the freedom of expression and in doing so affect the course of political development within their nations. Through a compilation of more than 500 news stories, essays, editorials, and other articles taken from The New York Times, this work chronicles government attempts to influence speech and the public...

"All essays are well researched and clearly written, with invaluable extensive bibliographies. They also illustrate the complexities of interaction between politics and culture and paradoxes in the use of the theater." - Choice "Theater censorship in the 19th-century is a key issue for understanding relationships between urban society, government and new cultural trends. This book offers a large view of the different situations in Europe, showing both the specificities of each country and the converging trends, thus revealing the secret unity of theater as a forum in Europe at large. A very...