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Come and Take It: The Gun Printer's Guide to Thinking Free
A startling philosophical manifesto for the twenty-first century on freedom of information, Come and Take It is the controversial yet thrilling story of the first ever-3D printable gun, developed by self-described crypto-anarchist and rogue thinker Cody Wilson.
In Defense Distributed, Cody Wilson’s employees worked against all odds to defend liberty and the right to access arms through the production of 3D printed firearms. Now, Wilson crafts a unique and critical guide through the digital revolution and follows a group of digital radicals as they navigate political subterfuge—deflecting interference from the State Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—to create a technological miracle, against all odds.
Harkening to both Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and The Anarchist Cookbook , Come and Take It combines elements of a modern-day thriller with a fascinating philosophical treatise, and Wilson paints a scathing and timely portrait of an ideologically polarized America and his own struggle in the fight for liberty.
In Defense Distributed, Cody Wilson’s employees worked against all odds to defend liberty and the right to access arms through the production of 3D printed firearms. Now, Wilson crafts a unique and critical guide through the digital revolution and follows a group of digital radicals as they navigate political subterfuge—deflecting interference from the State Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—to create a technological miracle, against all odds.
Harkening to both Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and The Anarchist Cookbook , Come and Take It combines elements of a modern-day thriller with a fascinating philosophical treatise, and Wilson paints a scathing and timely portrait of an ideologically polarized America and his own struggle in the fight for liberty.
320 pages, Paperback
Published June 6, 2017
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401 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 31, 2017
As a result of Wilson's writing style, many reviews of this book on goodreads are negative which gives me the impetus to write a positive review. Rather than adopting the more popular postmodern writing style (e.g. David Foster Wallace) with never-ending compound sentences, Wilson writes more like Hemmingway, preferring a shorter syntax. The problem for many readers is that Wilson juxtaposes metaphors with reality. In this way he opposes the style of Hemmingway, who sought to omit all that is unnecessary. However, I believe that this is done intentionally to slowdown the reader. By reading this book slowly, the reader will notice that Wilson also eludes to historical shooting events. For example, on page 252 he writes, "We did the exchange at the foot of the Tower." This is a reference to the 1966 shooting at the University of Texas at Austin tower shooting (notice the capitalization of Tower). Similarly, on page 269, he deviates from reality when an airline ticketing agent says to him, "Well, you're a young male, traveling alone, buying a one-way, same-day ticket. Frankly, sir, you match a profile." This is an allusion to the man hunt for the Boston Bomber.
Clearly, much can be garnered from reading between the lines of this book. Given the textual redactions demanded by the US Department of State beginning on page 291, one can only assume that Wilson's intention in writing this book was to be as clever as he was in designing the Liberator Pistol.
Clearly, much can be garnered from reading between the lines of this book. Given the textual redactions demanded by the US Department of State beginning on page 291, one can only assume that Wilson's intention in writing this book was to be as clever as he was in designing the Liberator Pistol.
December 31, 2016
I am very interested in 3D printing, firearms, and technology making law irrelevant, and defense distributed has definitely made progress in that area. Unfortunately, this book is very light on actual information beyond some of the press coverage already published. The prose is, at best, overwrought. The anti-capitalism and left-anarchism got a bit grating, too. And there was no coverage of the ghost gunner milling machine, which is my favorite part of the project. Overall, worth reading if you are interested in the topic, but I'm still waiting for a great book on "physical" cypherpunk technology.
June 13, 2017
If Travis Bickle wrote a book
October 2, 2017
Art has been defined as any media which produces an emotional or philosophical response. This book, for me, is art. When I first heard about Defense Distributed's attempt at 3d printing a gun I didn't think much of it. I already had the ability, should I choose to, to finish a 80% weapon myself. I had already assembled my own dreaded assault weapon from a purchased lower receiver. What would a plastic gun contribute to the state of the art? Then I watched an interview with a profound thinker, Cody Wilson, which made me curious. Here was a 30 something guy speaking to the deeper legal and moral questions behind 3d printing technology as instrumentd of freedom. I found myself questioning my own assumptions about the true extent of the 1st and 2nd amendment and where we should draw boundries as a society. I think Cody, in his wandering spirit persona at least should be able to raise similar questions in you.
May 9, 2018
I love experiments, for example, my current one into biohacking is with ostarine (SARM) and cardarine (mitochondria enhancer) or ethereum dApps in the field of blockchain tech. So, I approve this one.
September 26, 2019
Dengan semakin banyaknya pemikir, penulis, atau seniman yang berada di ujung hayat umurnya akhir-akhir ini, timbul rasa ingin mencari karya yang dibuat oleh seseorang yang datang dari generasi 'millennial'.
Cody Wilson bisa menjadi contoh 'abang-abang gen. millennial' yang memberikan gambaran alternatif dan menyegarkan—dibanding figur-figur dan narasi millennial yang ada.
You don't have to agree with his views—terlebih lagi, jika dibandingkan dengan konteks politik di Indonesia, mungkin isu 'Gun Rights' tidaklah relevan—but his story and projects are surely interesting.
1. Menjadi bagian dari developer sebuah Wallet untuk Bitcoin era awal: cek.
2. Berkawan dengan Amir Taaki—Iranian-UK crypto-anarchist yang beberapa tahun lalu memutuskan untuk ikut terjun ke sekitaran Syria dan membantu kaum Kurd dalam melawan ISIS: cek.
3. Posisi politik yang membuat pusing Democrats dan Republican—plus, mengutip Foucault saat diwawancara dalam sebuah acara talkshow Conservative: cek.
4. Membuat proyek Pistol/Senjata Tangan 3D-printed yang memanfaatkan sifat 'jaringan' dari internet: cek.
Untuk saya pribadi, proyeknya ini seperti sebuah karya seni konseptual—i.e., only to prove an irrefutable point: the rising shift from 'Centralized' to 'Decentralized' Media Topology.
Bahwa jikapun pemerintah DAN *perusahaan (senjata)/korporat besar* terus-terusan mencoba menggagalkan usaha dari mas Cody ini... unggahan blueprint senjata tangannya di internet menyebar dengan laju yang tak bisa dikejar entitas-entitas besar/top-down.
5. Buku ini dibuat seakan-akan seperti 'How-to Guide' untuk senjata 3d-print—dan tentunya mengecewakan banyak orang :D karena mas Cody menulis dengan prosa yang sedikit-banyak, terasa metaforis bahkan puitis.
Sekali lagi, jangan harap untuk menemukan poin-poin 'how-to' atau pointer praktis ala buku-buku pop di Periplus bandara-bandara. Anggaplah buku ini sebagai sebuah artefak atau catatan dari generasi kita (speaking to you millennials)—yang mengeksplorasi berbagai 'zeitgeist' dari generasi yang terlahir di masa 'transisi' analog ke digital— melalui satu lensa atau corong perspektif dan pengalaman hidup sang penulis.
Cody Wilson bisa menjadi contoh 'abang-abang gen. millennial' yang memberikan gambaran alternatif dan menyegarkan—dibanding figur-figur dan narasi millennial yang ada.
You don't have to agree with his views—terlebih lagi, jika dibandingkan dengan konteks politik di Indonesia, mungkin isu 'Gun Rights' tidaklah relevan—but his story and projects are surely interesting.
1. Menjadi bagian dari developer sebuah Wallet untuk Bitcoin era awal: cek.
2. Berkawan dengan Amir Taaki—Iranian-UK crypto-anarchist yang beberapa tahun lalu memutuskan untuk ikut terjun ke sekitaran Syria dan membantu kaum Kurd dalam melawan ISIS: cek.
3. Posisi politik yang membuat pusing Democrats dan Republican—plus, mengutip Foucault saat diwawancara dalam sebuah acara talkshow Conservative: cek.
4. Membuat proyek Pistol/Senjata Tangan 3D-printed yang memanfaatkan sifat 'jaringan' dari internet: cek.
Untuk saya pribadi, proyeknya ini seperti sebuah karya seni konseptual—i.e., only to prove an irrefutable point: the rising shift from 'Centralized' to 'Decentralized' Media Topology.
Bahwa jikapun pemerintah DAN *perusahaan (senjata)/korporat besar* terus-terusan mencoba menggagalkan usaha dari mas Cody ini... unggahan blueprint senjata tangannya di internet menyebar dengan laju yang tak bisa dikejar entitas-entitas besar/top-down.
5. Buku ini dibuat seakan-akan seperti 'How-to Guide' untuk senjata 3d-print—dan tentunya mengecewakan banyak orang :D karena mas Cody menulis dengan prosa yang sedikit-banyak, terasa metaforis bahkan puitis.
Sekali lagi, jangan harap untuk menemukan poin-poin 'how-to' atau pointer praktis ala buku-buku pop di Periplus bandara-bandara. Anggaplah buku ini sebagai sebuah artefak atau catatan dari generasi kita (speaking to you millennials)—yang mengeksplorasi berbagai 'zeitgeist' dari generasi yang terlahir di masa 'transisi' analog ke digital— melalui satu lensa atau corong perspektif dan pengalaman hidup sang penulis.
December 8, 2019
Wilson gained fame and notoriety as one of the earliest, if not the first person to design and use a 3D printed gun. This book tells his account of how it went from idea to manifestation along with the challenges he ran into, the support (financial, intellectual, technical), and the ideologies that fueled his thinking as he move through the process. On its face-value, the book has something to offer many folks about understanding both the legal issues and concerns around 3D printing of guns as well as 1st and 2nd Amendment rights. Even learning about how and why the 3D gun was created could be quite valuable but Wilson's prose are too often psuedo-literary flourishes attempting to show how brilliant and above the rest of humanity he is--of course, this comes to clash with his self-described crypto-anarchism (nothing says anarchist like publishing with a major publisher that is going to make dollars while he'll make pennies from sales--that seems to be really sticking it to the system, right?). That's what is ultimately unsufferable about this book. He is so invested in himself that he makes numerous moments seem like a bad mix between B-movie noir (his need to tell the body shape of every woman he encounters) to the paranoid ramblings of a Philip K. Dick character. It's these distraction mixed with occasional nuggets of insight (But not really a break-down of such insights or even proof of such insights) that keep this from being any sense of guide to thinking free and more like something likley to take off with folks who are easily pulled into conspiracy theories.
July 13, 2023
Didn't much care for this book. The author's style seems forced and artificial. Several passages get muddled by an overuse of the thesaurus but this lessened and his style smoothed out around page 124. He also showed a penchant for the near overuse of similes. I was looking for more of a political book or at least some kind of thought or philosophy to crop up or congeal within the narrative even promotion, but nothing. Terms were thrown around with no real substance behind them. Although the author's response to an oft-asked question concerning printed guns (page 202) won me over. The redaction, smacking of actual government censorship, was concerning, but I wanted to know a little more maybe as an endnote rather than just to have the chapter redacted (though it speaks loudly by itself the book needed something more). I can't recommend this book, it’s just a mediocre memoir of how a much more interesting story came to be.
January 12, 2017
excellent premise, interesting concepts, poorly written
April 22, 2019
Am I a freedom yet?
January 9, 2019
A disappointing book, not much time is given on the purported deeper motivations of developing, designing, and distributing makefiles for printable guns, the few bits we get make Cody Wilson sound more like an articulated version of the Joker from the Dark Knight. He doesn't want to see the city burn, he wants to... overthrow the false belief of safety the government imposes on people to maintain control... (Reads a bit like Noam Chomsky no?)
Speaking of which, I am not familiar with current libertarian thought, but this guy sounds nothing like Von Mises or Hayek. He sounds more like a 'leftist', talking about oppressive power structures, meta-critiques (of gun owners) designed to make them look unhinged, taking the means of production away from the state and the capitalist production entities appended to it.
Yet, none of it rings deep, they are all words in the ether, undefined and unstructured. That, or he expects the verbiage to be a common notion among his readers, which was supposed to be the general public, not an anarcho-capitalist.
Neither is his book a technical tour on how the liberator gun was engineered. A little bit is given on trying to find better material that can withstand the force released in the lower receiver upon engaging the trigger etc., as well test firing prototypes, but most of that detail is secondary.
This book is primarily about Cody Wilson's journey across the country (and parts of Europe), to engage various media outlets, and find/talk to potential investing parties, after media broke the news of his project.
Along the way, we encounter some familiar people[s], including Alex Jones, who provided Wilson early coverage and support, to a clique of silicon valley libertarians, the likes of which include "racial realist" (read: neo-eugenicists), and another assortment that makes up the Pepe-crowd. Wilson expresses some admiration for these people, who are "empiricist" like himself, another catchword you should look out for when utilized by people with no technical background, like Wilson. That word almost always refers to the "empirical facts" differentiating the races.
Cody Wilson is smart and articulate, that's what Cody Wilson wants the listener to understand in this book. Probably true, but not really worth the admission fee and 8 hours of time for the message for many. Also because the events recounted in this book occurred from 2012 to 2013, Wilson sounds off a lot on the "intolerant left", statist attempts to control guns by exploiting school shootings etc., but given recent events, these positions have not aged well.
If you want to read a more technical account of the development of 3d printed guns, don't recommend. If you wanted to understand the deeper worldview of Cody Wilson (assuming one exists at all), and those like him in the techno-right, don't recommend. If you want to read Cody Wilson's personal journey from UT Austin law to 3d gun manufacturer, then it's recommended.
Speaking of which, I am not familiar with current libertarian thought, but this guy sounds nothing like Von Mises or Hayek. He sounds more like a 'leftist', talking about oppressive power structures, meta-critiques (of gun owners) designed to make them look unhinged, taking the means of production away from the state and the capitalist production entities appended to it.
Yet, none of it rings deep, they are all words in the ether, undefined and unstructured. That, or he expects the verbiage to be a common notion among his readers, which was supposed to be the general public, not an anarcho-capitalist.
Neither is his book a technical tour on how the liberator gun was engineered. A little bit is given on trying to find better material that can withstand the force released in the lower receiver upon engaging the trigger etc., as well test firing prototypes, but most of that detail is secondary.
This book is primarily about Cody Wilson's journey across the country (and parts of Europe), to engage various media outlets, and find/talk to potential investing parties, after media broke the news of his project.
Along the way, we encounter some familiar people[s], including Alex Jones, who provided Wilson early coverage and support, to a clique of silicon valley libertarians, the likes of which include "racial realist" (read: neo-eugenicists), and another assortment that makes up the Pepe-crowd. Wilson expresses some admiration for these people, who are "empiricist" like himself, another catchword you should look out for when utilized by people with no technical background, like Wilson. That word almost always refers to the "empirical facts" differentiating the races.
Cody Wilson is smart and articulate, that's what Cody Wilson wants the listener to understand in this book. Probably true, but not really worth the admission fee and 8 hours of time for the message for many. Also because the events recounted in this book occurred from 2012 to 2013, Wilson sounds off a lot on the "intolerant left", statist attempts to control guns by exploiting school shootings etc., but given recent events, these positions have not aged well.
If you want to read a more technical account of the development of 3d printed guns, don't recommend. If you wanted to understand the deeper worldview of Cody Wilson (assuming one exists at all), and those like him in the techno-right, don't recommend. If you want to read Cody Wilson's personal journey from UT Austin law to 3d gun manufacturer, then it's recommended.
August 29, 2018
I've followed the 3D printed firearms issue at a surface level since Cody Wilson first fired the Liberator so, for me, this was a fascinating exploration of the issue beneath all the salacious headlines and political fear-mongering.
Cody Wilson's candor is impressive. His side of the story, from the inception of idea to its ultimate conclusion, reads more like a political thriller than personal memoir or manifesto, although it is, at times, all three.
He forever changed the debate over free speech, the overlap between the First and Second Amendments, and those battle lines are still being fought in court today. I read this faster than I probably ought to, so I'll be reading it again in the near future to pick up the nuances I missed the first time.
Regardless of which side of this debate you think you're on, I encourage you to read this book to understand why Mr. Wilson is so passionate about free speech, the Second Amendment, internet censorship and personal liberty. His motivations many not be what you've been led to believe.
Cody Wilson's candor is impressive. His side of the story, from the inception of idea to its ultimate conclusion, reads more like a political thriller than personal memoir or manifesto, although it is, at times, all three.
He forever changed the debate over free speech, the overlap between the First and Second Amendments, and those battle lines are still being fought in court today. I read this faster than I probably ought to, so I'll be reading it again in the near future to pick up the nuances I missed the first time.
Regardless of which side of this debate you think you're on, I encourage you to read this book to understand why Mr. Wilson is so passionate about free speech, the Second Amendment, internet censorship and personal liberty. His motivations many not be what you've been led to believe.
November 30, 2023
Not for everyone, but definitely for more people than would initially think it was for them.
This is not a textbook on 3D printing or firearms, but rather a stream-of-conscious series of philosophical and introspective musings about political power juxtaposed alongside his journey to start Defense Distributed and develop a fully 3D printable gun for the masses. Some may critique its borderless fluidity between fact, philosophy and poetic segues, but in my opinion it makes for a book that reads quickly and easily if you just keep going and don't worry too much about gleaning the full intention behind each word. Not everything will connect or resonate with you in realtime, but as you start to accept the style, more and more will. And what does stand out and resonate with your own way of thinking will be all the richer for it.
Highly recommend if you are interested in diving down any rabbit hole related to personal freedom, autonomy or ever feel the thought pulling at the back of your brain "what if government actually hinders humanity more than it helps?"
5/5 Filament Spools.
This is not a textbook on 3D printing or firearms, but rather a stream-of-conscious series of philosophical and introspective musings about political power juxtaposed alongside his journey to start Defense Distributed and develop a fully 3D printable gun for the masses. Some may critique its borderless fluidity between fact, philosophy and poetic segues, but in my opinion it makes for a book that reads quickly and easily if you just keep going and don't worry too much about gleaning the full intention behind each word. Not everything will connect or resonate with you in realtime, but as you start to accept the style, more and more will. And what does stand out and resonate with your own way of thinking will be all the richer for it.
Highly recommend if you are interested in diving down any rabbit hole related to personal freedom, autonomy or ever feel the thought pulling at the back of your brain "what if government actually hinders humanity more than it helps?"
5/5 Filament Spools.
April 5, 2018
Interesting look at the development of 3D Printer technology and the musings of Wilson with it's applications towards world wide armament against tyranny.
The book is a rough read. The narrative has a staccato flow jumping forward in places without closure. It doesn't flow as an enjoyable read. I found the overall tone of Wilson becoming more bitter as he went along with the history as his agitation with governmental forces increased. Interesting book from a tech point of view. Barely readable as libertarian/anarcho-capitalist philosophy.
The book is a rough read. The narrative has a staccato flow jumping forward in places without closure. It doesn't flow as an enjoyable read. I found the overall tone of Wilson becoming more bitter as he went along with the history as his agitation with governmental forces increased. Interesting book from a tech point of view. Barely readable as libertarian/anarcho-capitalist philosophy.
June 20, 2021
I found it rather boring, unless you're a fanboy. Not enough engineering to interest an engineer, too much gun terminogy, unless you're a gun hobbyist. The review I read said it was comparable to Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance (except for it contains no spirituality) and called it comparable to the Anarchist Cookbook (except for the Anarchist cookbook contained bomb and weapon how-to recipes and this doesn't).
September 3, 2022
1.5 stars rounded up. My eyes rolled out of my head when the feminist professor story cropped up out of the middle of nowhere lol. I get it, you (and the people you hang out with, which evidently includes Alex Jones) are soooo cool and badass; if only this book was either of those qualities.
"I'd always had the trickster sensibility and this approach appealed to that part of me - play by the rules, but ruin the game to show the absurdity of it all."
"I'd always had the trickster sensibility and this approach appealed to that part of me - play by the rules, but ruin the game to show the absurdity of it all."
June 1, 2017
A memoir designed to impress with fifty cent words and literary/philosophical references rather than inform -- very little info on the development process or Wilson's views on the Second Amendment and his contribution.
March 19, 2024
A short read on the trials and tribulations of a true disruptor. I got a sliver of understanding of his motivations from that time, I think I got more of his motivations more from his talks and interviews. It was a quick and easy read.
May 11, 2017
The book seems to want to be read as a novella, and it becomes easier to read once you do so.
October 22, 2019
Interesting and insightful look into the man and his path towards making freedom irrevocable. A true disruptor.
August 18, 2022
It was interesting to get a glimpse into how he did it but I didn't need to know so much about his friends.
May 17, 2023
Rambling hyperbole.
April 3, 2018
A little challenging to read, the vocabulary and sentence structure used is at times esoteric. I think Cody Wilson is a brilliant young man who stands up and fights bravely for a free society, this narrative is an excellent account of his intial pursuit in that ongoing endeavor
April 23, 2020
Disseminating a dangerous degree of freedom
This book is a hybrid between a manifesto and a memoir of this young Texan who invented the 3D printed gun. I liked this book because it lays bare the uniquely American philosophy.
America is the one country wherein citizens are obligated to overthrow the government if it gets too out of hand. Every other country is set up to protect the cartel of the powerful elite.
Time will tell if this guy is too rebellious for his own good; I hope he doesn’t end up in jail. However; the very fact that someone can do something as disruptive as release to the world downloadable guns is a reassuring sign that perhaps the American experiment with freedom yet draws breath.
This book is a hybrid between a manifesto and a memoir of this young Texan who invented the 3D printed gun. I liked this book because it lays bare the uniquely American philosophy.
America is the one country wherein citizens are obligated to overthrow the government if it gets too out of hand. Every other country is set up to protect the cartel of the powerful elite.
Time will tell if this guy is too rebellious for his own good; I hope he doesn’t end up in jail. However; the very fact that someone can do something as disruptive as release to the world downloadable guns is a reassuring sign that perhaps the American experiment with freedom yet draws breath.
Read
September 1, 2016"Wilson has the sort of confidence that persuades you for as long as you don't break eye contact with him.
Reading Come and Take it is like swiping right at a profile photo on Tinder, then showing up to the bar to meet a person who looks nothing like it. The charismatic visionary fails to appear in these pages, replaced by doppelganger who unzips his pants and takes a WikiLeak on his imagined liberal critics."
-Jesse Barron on Cody Wilson's Come and Take It: The Gun Printer's Guide to Thinking Free in the Fall issue of Bookforum
To read the rest of this review, go to Bookforum:
http://bookforum.com/inprint/023_03/1...
Reading Come and Take it is like swiping right at a profile photo on Tinder, then showing up to the bar to meet a person who looks nothing like it. The charismatic visionary fails to appear in these pages, replaced by doppelganger who unzips his pants and takes a WikiLeak on his imagined liberal critics."
-Jesse Barron on Cody Wilson's Come and Take It: The Gun Printer's Guide to Thinking Free in the Fall issue of Bookforum
To read the rest of this review, go to Bookforum:
http://bookforum.com/inprint/023_03/1...
December 23, 2016
A meandering and melodramatic story in desperate need of an editor. The best part is the simple accounting of how Cody Wilson came to conceptualize, design, and ultimately build a fully functional handgun using a 3D printer. But Wilson's writing jumps around erratically: at times it's a radical anarcho-libertarian political manifesto, and at others a memoir of the worst kind, filled with banal descriptions and boring anecdotes.
March 18, 2023
I was primarily interested in gaining further insights within the ethical and legal dilemmas related to 3D printing and sharing wiki weapons. The book definitely covers this topic, but it is somehow diluted by too many of the authors personal stories/experiences. This is essentially a summary of Cody Wilsons personal experiences, from founding DD, gaining international notoriety, releasing the Liberator and beyond. It is a nice read. 4 stars from me
December 5, 2016
The "Steal This Book" of the 21st century....
It's hard to know if Abby Hoffman would be proud or terrified of Cody Wilson's story; but I am certain that there are many parallels between the two man, their work and their times.
The next time you demand that your Government protect you from each and every possible little threat - think about that...
It's hard to know if Abby Hoffman would be proud or terrified of Cody Wilson's story; but I am certain that there are many parallels between the two man, their work and their times.
The next time you demand that your Government protect you from each and every possible little threat - think about that...
December 9, 2016
This book started out really interesting. I enjoy listening to anarchists and this book really brings home the implications of 3D printing. However by the end he gets a bit too Travis Bickle for my comfort. Glad I read it, gave me a lot to think about.
April 8, 2017
I like the premise of the book, however, there is a bit too much filler and overly-descriptive narration for my taste.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews