Revolution for the Hell of It

by Abbie Hoffman, Harvey Wasserman (Foreword by), Billy Talen (Introduction)

From one of America's most renowned dissidents and the author of Steal This Book -- a new edition of the counterculture manifesto that helped stir up a revolution in the 1960s

While the supremely popular Steal This Book is a guide to living outside the establishment, Revolution for the Hell of It is a chronicle of Abbie Hoffman's radical escapades that doubles as a guidebook for today's social and political activist.

Hoffman pioneered the use of humor, theater, and surprise to change the world for the better. In Revolution for the Hell of It he gives firsthand accounts of his legendary adventures, from the activism that led to the founding of the Youth International Party ("Yippies!) to the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests ("a perfect mess") that resulted in his conviction as part of the Chicago Seven.

Also chronicled is the the mass antiwar demonstration he helped lead in which over 50,000 people attempted to levitate the Pentagon using psychic energy and the time he threw fistfuls of dollar bills onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and watched the traders scramble. With antiwar sentiment once again on the rise and an incendiary political climate not seen since the book's original printing, Abbie Hoffman's voice is more essential than ever.

Includes a facsimile edition of Hoffman's rare first book, Fuck the System

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Philosophy, Counter Culture, Biography Memoir, Autobiography

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

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

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just added all the Abbie Hoffman books I read back in the early seventies. Coming out of the Army to the Art Institute of Chicago, and just as importantly, the streets of Chicago I was ripe for a prophet who was diametrically opposed to the three years I had just spent in Germany protecting the Free World from the Menace of Communism. I fell in love with Abbie Hoffman, and devoured everything he wrote. I wasn't a groupie, but if I thought Abbie would be there I'd try to be there as well. I don't think Abbie really believed in doing anything for the hell of it - there's an implication of insincerity and clownishness there that wasn't what he was about. He may have been called the Clown Prince of the Left, but that was theater - and effective theater at that. Abbie believed in a just society, and he used his manic (and tragic) creativity to push people in that direction at a time when you had to be outrageous just to be noticed (has that changed at all?). Revolution for the Hell of It is probably an artifact of the times, but at the time, at least for me, it was Holy Writ.

[DoctorM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember having a battered old paperback copy of this when I was maybe sixteen and thinking how brilliantly hilarious it was. The Yippies' day was long over by then, but down in the small towns of the Deepest South where I was growing up, I could still imagine that 1967 had never ended. At that age, I did want to be a Revolutionary, though probably for all the wrong reasons--- wearing black turtlenecks, living in West Berlin or the Lower East Side, seducing spy-thriller girls, blowing up random stuff. Hoffman seemed to be, well, fun--- certainly more fun than the Baader-Meinhof or the Red Brigades.

"Revolution for the Hell of It" is still a slogan I can relate to, though there's always the warning implicit in the Waitresses' old song "Redland"--- "It may not be better, but at least it'll all be different". Hoffman offered up revolution as Carnival--- fun, but dangerous...and so easily co-opted by consumer capitalism.

Anyway--- all these years later, it's still fun to read...though it's an artifact from a lost kind of inept utopianism.

[RYD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of this book offers a playful look back at late-1960s culture. Other parts come off dated and stale. But in both cases, Abbie Hoffman's sense of humor shines.

For instance, this passage, on being forced to testify in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

"The hearings were adjourned to Thursday and we were ordered to return December 2, 1968 to begin our testimony. I plan to reveal everything. But I must warn the Committee that there will be a continuing language barrier. I requested permission to bring an interpreter to the October hearings, but permission was denied. I brought her anyway, but it was still difficult to understand them. They spoke of Marx and I thought they meant Groucho. My interpreter said, 'No, they mean Karl Marx.' They spoke of Lenin and I thought they meant John Lennon of the Beatles. My interpreter said, 'No, they mean the guy without the first name.' It was all getting very confusing, but what's to be expected when CHROMOSOME DAMAGE meets DINOSAURS. One thing I will state, however, before I testify, is that "I am not, now nor have I ever been a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee."

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read "Steal This Book", when I found this I had to have a copy. No, I didn't have any urge to emulate Abbie Hoffman, but he was entertaining. I thought "This guy is brilliant but crazy"; it wasn't until his suicide decades later that I discovered that he really WAS mentally ill. That doesn't negate the fact that he probably had more IQ points in his little finger than many of his opponents had in their entire bodies. An interesting fellow, and the world is poorer for his loss.

[Rick Ladd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book shortly after it was originally published in 1968; so long ago I have virtually no memory of what it was about! I do remember it prompted me to organize an anti-war demonstration at Los Angeles Valley College, which I publicized but had no intention of actually organizing, or even showing up. It made sense at the time. Guess you had to be there . . . and I'm pretty sure I was.

Apparently, this book is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance, as evidenced by it's appearing as a new edition now titled "Revolution for the Hell of It: The Book That Earned Abbie Hoffman a Five-Year Prison Term at the Chicago Conspiracy Trial."

Published in late April of 2005, here's what Amazon provides as a book description:

"While the supremely popular Steal This Book is a guide to living outside the establishment, Revolution for the Hell of It is a chronicle of Abbie Hoffman's radical escapades that doubles as a guidebook for today's social and political activist. Hoffman pioneered the use of humor, theater, and shock value to drive home his points, and in Revolution for the Hell of It he gives firsthand accounts of his legendary adventures, from the activism that led to the founding of the Youth International Party?or "Yippies!?to the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests ("a Perfect Mess") that resulted in his conviction as part of the Chicago Seven. Also chronicled are the mass demonstrations he led in which over fifty thousand people attempted to levitate the Pentagon using psychic energy, and the time he threw fistfuls of dollar bills onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and watched the traders scramble.

"With antiwar sentiment once again in a furor and an incendiary political climate not seen since the book's original printing, Abbie Hoffman's voice is more essential than ever."

[Wm · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one of the books that makes me snicker every time I hear the 1960's portrayed as such a period of change and impact. I found the book immature, lacking any clear message and lacking any solid understanding of politics or historical radicalism.

[Max Trumpower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as great as the autobiography, however, it was still definitely worth the read! Pretty dense as well. Talks less so about his life and definitely jumps around a lot, however, I think that is part of the point. If you’re an Abbie Hoffman lover, this book is for you.

[Jerod Duris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I read it in high school, and it introduced me to the politics and pranks of the Yippies. One of my favorite such pranks was when they toured the NY Stock Exchange and threw dollar bills off the balcony onto the trading floor below. They reportedly caused the Dow to drop significantly, and that is why the balcony is now encased in glass. I wanted to recreate it at the Hi Hat Lounge in Milwaukee but never did.
This is also, I believe, the first book I read with a nontraditional pronoun used for the protagonist: Free.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, along with Ginsberg's Howl, was one of those things kids passed around amongst themselves when I was in high school. Rich Hyde was the one who loaned me Revolution for the Hell of It one night in his basement on Courtland Avenue in Park Ridge, Illinois. It may have actually belonged to his older brother, Steve, the somewhat distant source of much interesting information once he'd gone off to the University of Chicago. But, what the hell, it was FREE and it was very, very funny.

[David Trautz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nerd Alert! This guy belonged in jail.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite autobiographies. Hilarious, tongue in cheek, and honest.

[Susana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for cultural significance, many of the key issues for the Yippies are still the topics of the present.

[Light Bringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is dangerous book - it gives you ideas for actions. That is - if you want to be free. Not everybody wants it, but I like dangerous things. Should be required reading instead of school.

[Kate Ly Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always really moved by Abbie Hoffman’s writing

[elsie ☮︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

THREE introductions? come on guys

[Erik Prime · Rating 2 out of 5]

A patchwork book about the American protest movement in the late 1960’s penned by legendary anarchist Abbie Hoffman under the pseudonym “FREE.” Stream of consciousness writing, letters, stories, poems, Q&A sessions, random musings, accounts of being harassed by cops, arrested, thrown in jail, smoking pot, dropping acid, Vietnam War protests in NYC’s Central park and Grand Central Station, all sorts of “ins” (love-ins, sit-ins, be-ins, peace-ins, smoke-ins), taking LSD and seeing 2001: A Space Oddity in the theater, frequent mentions of prominent hippies and Yippies (Youth International Party members), names once important but now forgotten in the tides of history.

Some of the author’s more interesting escapades described in the book include:

On August 24, 1967, Hoffman caused a commotion at the New York Stock Exchange by throwing fistfuls of dollar bills onto the trading floor during business hours.

On October 21, 1967, fifty thousand people gathered at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and tried to levitate the military complex off the ground using psychic energy and exorcism rituals.

The August 25-30, 1968, massive protests and violent riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that ended with Hoffman being arrested and put on trial as part of the notorious Chicago Seven.

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I appreciate (and even admire) Abbie Hoffman and his irreverent strain of counter-culture postmodernism, this book is kind of a mess. The majority is made up of recollections of random events Hoffman participated in, full of name drops that confuse the reader unless they are intimately aware of the who's who of the hippie moment. Hoffman isn't a particularly great writer either, particularly when it comes to constructing an intelligible narrative arc, though some of the passages here that more resemble poetry are quite enjoyable to read (those these are few and far between). The book does serve as a pretty good introduction to Hoffman's frame of mind, an absolutely anarchical ideology-less ideology of public theatre that in many ways resembles the sort of post-irony that fringe political movements now have adopted.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had never read Hoffman before; expected this to be irreverent but obnoxious, amusing but not particularly relevant. Instead, I found myself intrigued by parallels in present day movement spaces. Just one example: yes, adrienne maree brown is pulling from black feminists when she talks about "pleasure activism" and doing what gets you wet, but how is that not also Hoffman-esque? And I also found myself taking the Yippies much more seriously than I ever had before, perhaps for having a better understanding of the cultural constraints that they were up against--the deep repression and everyday authoritarianism of American culture mid-century--as well as better appreciation for less-than-straightforward approaches to social change. Is Hoffman still obnoxious in this book? Oh, for sure. But there are unexpected depths here, too.

[Rob Blackwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abbie is sometimes a difficult read. Obviously, there's a lot of language in here that pushes against taste, but I'm going to chalk it up to generational difference and assume the best. Abbie's need to create myth is fascinating, and it exemplifies his larger media manipulation narrative, but it does make for an irritating read sometime. He is so interesting, intelligent, and caring, that when he does talk straight, so much is communicated very eloquently. He typically does this in the form of jokes. The highlight of the book is his self interview. There you see the motivations and beliefs that drive him. A full book of those thoughts would be a beautiful thing, but, alas, that is not Yip! and that is not Abbie.

[Richard O. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Punks despised hippies with some justification. It's a measure of Hoffman's abandonment of a Brandeis education that he can write a book so badly that I have no memory of the prose, except that it was piss-poor and dumb. It's why the Yippies turned politics into farce, Theater of the Absurd, levitating the Pentagon (they failed) and flinging dollar bills onto the Wall Street floor. Unless I'm mistaken they nominated a Pig for President. None of these actions effectively resulted in the withering away of the state or universal love. Aaron Sorkin's recent film on the Chicago 7 unwittingly heroicizes Hoffman but Sorkin is a naive idealist. Hoffman was no hero of mine. Burning a U.S. flag during the years of Emperor Nixon on network TV may not have been the most judicious act.

[tai lyn sandhu · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m bored sorry

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the hardest book of Hoffman's to read of the three I picked up. It's very stylized (or maybe he was just on a trip the whole time he was writing it, which is entirely possible), and not strictly in chronological order. It's hard to follow his philosophy in this book (which is much more clearly laid out in the autobiography). Definitely some of his beliefs and language don't hold up (plenty of use of the n-word and conflating the plight of yippies as being as bad as what black people suffer). Sadly, would skip this one, doesn't hold up over time in my opinion.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this is extremely entertaining, informative, and instructive, it is very important not to romanticize it. Abbie was at the cutting edge of radical activism, during a period of great experimentation. Much of his writings remain as or even more applicable today as they were then, but you must read this with a critical eye if you are going to identify them. Many of his theories and tactics were experimental at the time, and were proven ineffective, and even more is obsolete in the present day.

That being said, this is still one of the most instructive pieces for contemporary radical activists. I probably quote it more than just about anything else.

For those not involved in activism or other methods of radicalism, it remains a very interesting snapshot of a brief and exciting moment in time, and a historical document of great value.

[Sarah Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abbie Hoffman serves as my reminder that social change can be smart and fun. this book was published 40 years ago and has a media savvy that far surpasses much of what is currently being written. that quality, combined with Hoffman's wit and astute grasp of power dynamics, makes this required reading for pretty much everyone I know.

[Neal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think 2.5 stars would have been perfect for this book. At times, I enjoyed it. At times, I hated it. Other times, I felt like I needed to be on acid to even follow it. However, the messages about mass media, and leadership should not be overlooked. I found these topics in the book to be both interesting and insightful.

[Brooke Chasen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. I would need to reserch more history though to understand some of the terms he uses in it. I liked certain ideas though such as the fact that we arnt as free as we'd like to think.

[Nicole Diamond · Rating 3 out of 5]

If it has one star I liked it a lot
If it has two stars I liked it a lot and would recommend it
If it has three stars I really really liked it a lot
If it has four stars I insist you read it
If it has five stars it was life changing

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book of ideas to make social agitation fun and exciting.

let us all try to levitate the Pentagon to stop the War machine!

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reason I give this 5 stars is that I read it when I was twelve, and at that time it absolutley blew my mind

[Chrisschuler1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and Kooky. Abbie Hoffman in a nutshell.