Steal This Book by Hoffman, Abbie; Haber, Izack; Forcade, Tom; Cohen, Bert Published by Pirate Editions, Grove Press 7th (seventh) Printing edition (1971) Mass Market Paperback

by Abbie Hoffman

The seventh 7th printing edition wording should be removed from this listing.

Genres: Nonfiction

Paperback

Published January 1, 1971

About the author

Abbott Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was a social and political activist in the United States who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies"). Later he became a fugitive from the law, who lived under an alias following a conviction for dealing cocaine.

Hoffman was arrested and tried for conspiracy and inciting to riot as a result of his role in protests that led to violent confrontations with police during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, along with Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner and Bobby Seale. The group was known collectively as the "Chicago Eight"; when Seale's prosecution was separated from the others, they became known as the Chicago Seven.

Hoffman came to prominence in the 1960s, and continued practicing his activism in the 1970s, and has remained a symbol of the youth rebellion and radical activism of that era. In his 1980 autobiography, Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture, he described himself as an anarchist.

Reviews

[Adam Bregman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an anarchist in the early '90s, I wrote revolutionary diatribes for anarchist magazines of the day and my own self-published zine. Though the variance between the early 1990s and 1971, when this guide to living free and waging revolution by Abbie Hoffman was published, is vast. My radical perspective was partially formed by the punk movement, which happened well before the 1990s. Steal This Book was written during the Vietnam War, before Roe vs. Wade and when the hippie, countercultural movement was going strong. Hoffman and his group, the Yippies, were on the radical end of that scene. With this guide, it was conceivable to live without a job and wage warfare individually against the Man. The book is not at all shy about suggesting violent rebellion, getting fairly deep into everything from knife fighting to hijacking planes. It also has pages devoted to shoplifting tricks and where to score free food. The majority of the info is specific and so couldn't apply to the present day, but if someone wanted to live off the grid now, this book still has some tips. Hoffman definitely wouldn't dig that this book is now not that easy to find and pricey to buy.

[Inês Veiga · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely a fun read. This is a book full of tips and tricks on how to live spending as little money as possible and, while you can actually implement some of the advices, others are a great window to the world more than 50 years ago (you will laugh a lot with the suggestions on how to fly for free).

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty stupid, most of it, but also entertaining. With a few clever ideas for, you know, sticking it to the man, and stuff.