Yes. The Italian government found this book’s account of an Italian retreat during World War I unflattering, and banned it. Background In the book A Farewell to Arms, American journalist and author Ernest Hemingway wrote about the Italian Army’s retreat from Caporetto, Italy during World War I. In Italy the book was considered unpatriotic. The semi-autobiographical novel was based on Hemingway’s experience as an ambulance driver during the war. When it was published in 1929, it was criticized for obscenity. The book was banned by city officials in Boston and Ireland, and was among the books burned by the Nazis in Germany. The book continues to generate controversy today. Some school districts have banned the book from school reading lists and some people still challenge its placement in school libraries. Banned from the screen In 1932, Paramount Pictures adapted A Farewell to Arms into a film. This was after Warner Bros. decided against making a film adaptation because of possible censorship issues, as well as fear of losing money on the film in Italy and other countries. The New York state board of censors refused to show the film without editing and the Catholic Legion of Decency added it to their list of condemned films.