One of the many issues dividing Americans today is the debate over the extent to which parents, politicians, and other community members can and should be able to 1) censor or ban books deemed to be of "questionable" content and 2) dictate curricula choices to teachers, school administrators, and other educators. What kinds of subject matter are targeted most frequently in book banning campaigns? How has parental involvement in school policies and academic instruction ebbed and flowed over the decades? How traumatic are these bitter clashes for school and public librarians and the collections in their charge? What are the facts about the efficacy of comprehensive sex education and abstinence-only education programs? This book answers all these questions and many more about one of the fiercest flashpoints in America's ongoing culture wars.