I am tempted to suggest Battlefield Earth because of its immense shitness, but I am not going to. I don't believe in censoring books.



Mmmmno. I don't think so. High school should be a time when you are allowed to explore literature and philosophy freely.



Aristotle's Poetics without which our literature would be radically different, and if our literature were I strongly believe we would be, too.

Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain, without which we would (probably) not have Arthur and (more certainly) not Merlin, and European Literature would be massively different.

Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman for obvious reasons.

Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species, again for obvious reasons.

Isaac Newtons Principia Mathematica, I suppose. Although I could probably replace that with some physicist or other.

This is a rather random list, but that is what you get when you ask for five (a random number). And I will admit my prejudice towards the humanities and women's rights.



Depends on the level. I think most high school students can handle the first three. The other two, I am not sure. Particularly as Darwin has been outpaced and Newton might be too technical (I never read it).



High school, right?

Palmer's A History of the Modern World
Herodotus' Histories
Dumas' The Three Musketeers (or other book labelled as classic but fun)
Benjamin's Childhood in Berlin around 1900
Nietzsche's The Gay Science


In some countries, yes.
And the type of book censored would seem to depend on the current fad.



Yes. Or rather, there is an unfortunate tendency to introduce kids to classics that are interesting only if analysed. This creates the perception that old literature cannot be entertaining, which leads to a lack of interest in exploration outside of school.

Simultaneously, and somewhat paradoxically (in that the former seems tied to an over-emphasis on the analytical), there seems to be a perception that kids must be sheltered from old texts (I assume because someone thinks that old means difficult?) -- Aristotle's Poetics is neither long nor difficult, and it is central to almost any discussion of literature in the West. Why it is not read in school baffles the mind.



Mmmnah. Well, possibly some of the drier naturalists, certainly in Norway. Reading Jonas Lie in high school is a serious faux pas when it comes to inspiring a love of literature.



In Norway, Bjørneboe would be a nice addition. He is unfortunately downplayed in school.



Um. That is a bit of an impossible choice, but perhaps because I just glanced at my book shelf and its absence caught my eye, Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Because it highlights the possiblity of finding patterns that are not necessarily a reflection of Truth once the material is reach enough. Ask me again in half an hour, and I will have changed my mind and decided that another book entirely is indispensable.