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It's said (in the context of wars) that it's the victors who write history, so arguably history's objectivity is questionable, from the outset. Then it's sometimes subjected to historical revisionism. So, who knows where the truth lies? Similarly, fiction is sometimes subjected to fictional revisionism, further muddying already murky waters.
Numerous ancient texts have been rewritten, or subtleties lost, or changed, in translations (think of Ancient Greek and Roman myths and legends, religious texts - including various versions of bibles, philosophies, even sometimes some of the so-called classics themselves, and so on).
Entire libraries have been torched (think of the Royal Library of Alexandria - was it in 48BC?), countless books have been "modernised", edited, abridged, turned into comics and generally hacked about. Then Hollywood gets hold of a story and applies its take (think of the film U-571) - people who watch films write books, and so more myths are perpetrated.
Meanwhile, the book burning goes on, to this day and there seems bleak chance of satiating the consumer's appetite for modernisation, whether it's to make books easier to read (dumbing down?) or to comply with perceived political correctness, etc. And so it goes on.
Absolutely deplorable as this latest example may be - Mark Twain must be turning in his grave - I rather doubt the process of messing about with books is going to stop any-time soon. Perhaps if enough people make enough of a fuss, then maybe fewer books will be tampered with, or banned outright, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
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