9780312146023. New condition. Hard cover. Language: English. Pages: 369. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 369 p. Examining the meaning of moral responsibility in literature and in our everyday lives Shattuck also suggests that we live in a violated world that dismisses taboos and fails to heed the wisdom of that which is sacred. Forbidden Knowledge is a scintillating work that does nothing less than trace the tragic arc of Western literatue and culture exploring the notion of forbidden knowledge from the sexual innocence of Adam and Eve to the sexual excesses of the Marquis de Sade and beyond.