Synopses & Reviews
A driving force behind the social revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, Hoffman inspired a generation to challenge the status quo. Meant as a practical guide for the aspiring hippie, Steal This Book captures Hoffman's puckish tone and became a cult classic with over 200,000 copies sold. Outrageously illustrated by R. Crumb, it nevertheless conveys a serious message to all would-be revolutionaries: You don't have to take it anymore. "All Power to the Imagination was his credo. Abbie was the best." and#151; Studs Terkel
Synopsis
A handbook of survival and warfare for the citizens of Woodstock Nation A classic of counterculture literature and one of the most influential--and controversial--documents of the twentieth century, Steal This Book is as valuable today as the day it was published. It has been in print continuously for more than four decades, and it has educated and inspired countless thousands of young activists.
Conceived as an instruction manual for radical social change, Steal This Book is divided into three sections--Survive Fight and Liberate Ever wonder how to start a guerilla radio station? Or maybe you want to brush up on your shoplifting techniques. Perhaps you're just looking for the best free entertainment in New York City. (The Frick Collection--"Great when you're stoned.")
Packed with information, advice, and Abbie's unique outlaw wisdom ("Avoid all needle drugs--the only dope worth shooting is Richard Nixon."), Steal This Book is a timeless reminder that, no matter what the struggle, freedom is always worth fighting for.
"All Power to the Imagination was his credo. Abbie was the best."--Studs Terkel
Synopsis
In 1970, Abbie Hoffman conceived the idea for his most ambitious book project yet. He had begun criss-crossing the country, ferreting out alternative ways of getting along in America -- some illegal, but most of them having to do with survival techniques. Steal This Book captures the spirit of those years, describing actions and techniques that were already in use in all 50 states.
Synopsis
The 50th anniversary edition of the notorious, radical survival guide to living free as a revolutionary from one of the greatest activists of the 20th century.
In 1970, infamous activist Abbie Hoffman sat in Cook County jail, awaiting what would become known as the Trial of the Chicago Seven. Hoffman and six conspirators were prosecuted by the US government for their part in anti-Vietnam War and counterculture protests outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention. It was in jail that Hoffman would begin to write Steal This Book.
Labelled by publishers as a book that would "end free speech" and causing scandals with its advice on how to get free food, housing, transportation, medical care, and more, as well as how to run a guerrilla movement, Steal This Book is a revolutionary's manual to "survival in the prison that is Amerika." Hoffman criss-crossed the country, ferreting out alternative ways of getting along in America--some illegal, and all radical--using his own decades of experience in living and fighting underground. Split into three sections to Survive Fight and Liberate , Steal This Book captures the spirit of those years, describing actions and techniques that were already in use in all 50 states and sharing them with the masses.
This anniversary edition will give you a window into the movements of the sixties and seventies. While many of the holes in the system which Hoffman exposes have since been plugged up, the spirit of revolution, the dedicated to undermining injustice, and the earnestness of activism remain--in this book and in activism today.