The Happy Mutant Handbook

by Mark Frauenfelder, Carla Sinclair, Gareth Branwyn

In the wrong hands, this book would receive a dousing of gasoline and a quick flick of the Bic. In the right hands, this is a delightfully subversive manual for a lifetime of fun.

This is the do-it-yourself handbook for enjoying our media-saturated world by tinkering with how it works. Pulls together the kookiest and most engaging ideas from the Internet, great suggestions on "culture jamming" (a practice of co-opting the resources, messages, and brain-washing machinery of existing media, pioneered by Adbusters magazine), and generally jam-packed with loads of fun ideas and funny material.

Notable contributors include Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker, R.U. Sirius, Richard Kadrey, and that most prolific of all authors, Anonymous.

(Editor's note: In some ways, the Happy Mutant philosophy is the cyberspawn of the behavioral shenanigans of the Dadaists, Surrealists, or the lesser-known but more interesting Situationists. )

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Cultural

205 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

Editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine. Founder of Boingboing.net.

My books: The Happy Mutant Handbook (1995, Riverhead), a guide to offbeat pop culture. Mad Professor (2003, Chronicle), science experiments for kids. Worlds Worst (2005, Chronicle), a guide to the worst stuff on Earth, The Computer (2005, Carlton books), an illustrated history of computers. Rule the Web (2007, St. Martins), a guide to online tricks and tips. Next book, The World in Your Hands, to be published in 2010 by Penguin,"

Reviews

[Swankivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this thing cover to cover and have had loads of fun with it. If the word "happy mutant" appeals to you and seems to describe you, you might consider checking this book out and learning about how to do things that have amused others of your kind. There are many pranks (of which I am very fond myself) and cool stuff that you can do on the computer. It is a rather disorganized book, but that doesn't really matter. I've learned a lot from this weird little book and you will too. Recommendation: Look for it in used bookstores or in out-of-print book searches, 'cause it's old and a bit outdated, from when the Internet was a kooky playground that was half barren wasteland, half insanity.

[Rosminah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a gift from a friend, right about the time I had a growing interest in Burning Man and other assorted randomness. I had just moved to England, so this book was my link to the quirkiness I could no longer get at in the bay area and black rock city.
I still like the graphic designs of the book and occasionally grab images out of it for little art projects.
Maybe there isn't much to learn from it today, the book is now over a decade old, but it can probably be bought used for cheap and turned into art projects. I keep my copy nearby.

[Freder · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's dated now, but in its day it was an amazing toolbox for rewiring one's own brain and worldview. Still a lot of fun.

[Julie Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of suggestions, ideas, fun information, and resources for weirdos was a fantastically amusing book for me when I was growing up in the late 90s, teetering on the edge of a real Internet, excited about all the nerdy ways I could reach out and be weird to other weird people. There's a fair number of straight-up articles and interviews in here--bits on coding experiments, perspective from SubGenius leader Ivan Stang, digital evolution--and there are also some hilarious resources, like graphics you can have made into stickers so you can mess with people's heads. (I like the little label they encourage you to place on a product which reads "CONTAMINATED GOODS: For sale to code level Magenta humans only. Remove label before displaying.) Building hacking was another fun one--not only do you get tips, but you get some philosophy on morals (no breaking when entering; no stealing!) and what drives people to hack buildings. The book had no real order to it, and of course it is completely outdated now wherever Internet weirdness is included, but it's a fantastic romp, and what's not outdated is timeless.

[Keith Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love weirdness but not weirdness for its own sake. If someone writes a book, records music, or makes a movie and it ends up being weird then that is wonderful. But when someone deliberately sets out to create something weird the end result is usually tedious or pretentious; see: Burning Man.

I read this back in 1995 and it had a very positive effect on my world view. It is one thing to be weird and be content with it, but it is something else to know you are not alone. Not that the Happy Mutant Handbook made me want to hangout with weird people, far from it. I try to avoid weird people in real life, but I do enjoy their books and albums. I just don't want to join any club made up of people similar to me.

Much of the material is very dated, an updated version would be much appreciated. Recommended for fans of Terry Gilliam, They Might Be Giants, old MAD magazine, and the Church of the Sub-Genius.

[Justin Hudnall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, it's weird going back to publications that were all about how being technologically cutting-edge led to some kind of marginal anti-establishment statement. Especially from the 90's. Tim & Eric's Awesome Show Great Job! really feels like a documentary after rereading this. I loved this as a kid as much as I loved the movie "Hackers", but now they both feel like a bunch of Gen X'ers were trying to start a super-secret club house and couldn't come up with what made them different.
Now all those people are bald and blog about their cats and which anti-depressants kill their sex drive. I'm bald too and very sad to remember the optimism of the tech boom from the other side of the bubble.

In the book's defense, it's a cute read and funny, but good lord how we dated ourselves that decade.

[dvnt_23 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dear dear friend gave this to me and I have used it as a guide for life ever since deciding to get a day job and get 'all growed up'......

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book pretty much made me into the person that I am today. Someday, my children (or neices and nephews) will be raised on this book.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange book... like a practical Slack book. Out of date, though, so not so practical anymore.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Funny, witty and at times down right accurate.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Happy Mutant Handbook by Carla Sinclair (1995)