Although the Nazi book burnings are a well-known trope of censureship, I'd never seen an in-depth account of the cultural reactions to that event, until now. The author backed into the topic, he says, having conceived a larger project on the multivalent significance of fire. On the one hand it is a destroyer, but on the other it is a purifier, clearing the stage for new growth by purging decadent and harmful influences.

Although he stops short of labeling Nazi book burnings as something that from some perspectives can be a good thing, he lets us know that at the time many commentators did not see the harm, and even saw a bit of the good. I confess confess this set uncomfortably with me, since I see book burning as categorically a bad thing, with no redeeming value. Sure, even this stance has to be nuanced, suggesting that the moral significance of the burning or disposal depends on the intent: if the goal is to make the contents inaccessible, or even just to signal its unacceptability, then it is bad; if it is to dispose of extra copies or outmoded, superseded volumes, it is not. ( )