Steal This Book

by

Published Jan. 24, 1996 by Four Walls Eight Windows.

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4 stars (6 reviews)

In 1967 a book called "F--k The System" was published privately under the pseudonym George Metesky, a favorite fake name of political theater artist Abbie Hoffman. It was the prototype for this edition, in 1971 greatly expanded and retitled "Steal This Book" and distributed by Grove Press from a label called Pirate Editions. Both books were designed to help political radicals on the lam from the authorities maintain their existence off the radar screens of polite society. The latter book (in three sections, Survive!, Fight! and Liberate!) describes late 1960's resources for free food, clothing, transportation, education, medical care and communication. The final pages offer specifics for NYC, LA, Chicago and San Francisco, and also a list of "other books worth stealing". Draft dodging, woodworking, legal aid, locksmithing, avoiding listening devices... it's all here, at least as it existed then. "Steal This Book" was Hoffman's fourth book, with "F--k The …

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reviewed Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman

Review of "Steal This Book"

4 stars

This was surprisingly fun! While most of the practical advice is unfortunately outdated, some general ideas on political organizing seemed very pertinent to me. I appreciated this book as an introduction to the Yippies, the culture/theatre-focused style of changemaking, and Abbie Hoffman. It was great to read a contemporary account of the Berkley People's Park and see what became of it. If you're ready to liberally skip over the parts that are inapplicable, this is a fantastic read!

reviewed Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman

Review of 'Steal This Book' on 'GoodReads'

4 stars

Man, I loved this book when I read it. I was around 20, and even though most of the advice was obsolete (and more was becoming obsolete--subway tokens and old-school turnstiles were on their way out for the MBTA the year I got this book), the very idea of someone compiling advice on how to scam a little bit of everything for free was very powerful.

I put this in a lending library my roommates and I kept in a spare room and, ironically, it was the only book that was never returned! I hope the new owner enjoyed it and passed it on as well.

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