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Steal This Book
First published 1971 · 352 pages
A chaotic, middle-finger-raising survival guide that immerses you in the electric paranoia and radical freedom of the late-sixties underground.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like being handed a secret, mimeographed zine in the back room of a smoky 1970s dive bar. It is a chaotic, electric artifact of the counterculture, vibrating with an urgent, anti-establishment energy that is equal parts hilarious and deeply earnest. The prose is raw, slang-heavy, and unapologetically provocative, pulling you into a gritty underground world where survival means outsmarting the system at every turn. It moves at a brisk, frantic pace, bouncing between practical survival tips and impassioned political theater. Perfect for modern anarchists, history buffs, and anyone who harbors a rebellious streak, this manifesto immerses you in a mood of joyful defiance and paranoid liberation, capturing the exact texture of a revolution.
- Mood
- chaotic
- gritty
- rebellious
- underground
- Tone
- irreverent
- provocative
- urgent
- cynical
- humorous
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- anti-capitalist resistance · DIY survival · radical freedom · political theater · countercultural solidarity
- The writing
- Raw, slang-heavy, and conversational, reading like an urgent zine passed hand-to-hand at a protest.
- The arc
- Begins with a rejection of mainstream society and builds into an empowering, mischievous manual for radical independence.
- Who it's for
- Anyone fascinated by the gritty reality of the 1960s counterculture, modern anarchists, and readers who love unapologetic, anti-establishment manifestos.
Content notes
- descriptions of illegal activities
- drug use
- anti-police sentiment
- sabotage
About the book
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 System", "Revolution For The Hell Of It" and "Woodstock Nation" coming earlier in that order.
Description from Open Library.
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