Steal This Book
Cover of Steal This Book
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| Author | Abbie Hoffman |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Pirate Editions / Grove Press |
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Publication date
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1971 |
| Pages | 308 +xii, illustrations, bibliography |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 32589277 |
| 335/.83 20 | |
| LC Class | HX843.7.H64 A3 1971a |
Steal This Book is a book written by Abbie Hoffman. Written in 1970 and published in 1971, the book exemplified the counterculture of the sixties. The book sold more than a quarter of a million copies between April and November 1971. It is unknown how many were stolen.
The book, in the style of the counterculture, mainly focused on ways to fight the government, and against corporations in any way possible. The book is written in the form of a guide to the youth. Hoffman, a political and social activist himself, used many of his own activities as the inspiration for some of his advice in Steal This Book.
The main author of the book, Abbie Hoffman, was one of the most influential and recognizable American activists of the late-1960s and early-1970s, gaining fame with his leadership in anti-Vietnam War protests. Aside from Hoffman, several people were involved in the compilation of Steal This Book including Izak Haber who is listed as "co-conspirator" and Bert Cohen who is listed as "accessory after the fact" on the cover. Tom Forcade was not credited in the book, but Hoffman later admitted that he had taken part in some of the editing before being replaced by Bert Cohen.Steal This Book was written in the climate of the counter-culture, in which opposition to tradition and government was rampant, and experimentation with new forms of living was encouraged. When the book was published, it took hold among the new left, especially among students on college campuses, such as Brandeis University, where Hoffman had been a student.
Steal This Book is divided into three sections, "Survive!", "Fight!" and "Liberate!". Each section has several sub-chapters. As the book has aged, the specific details of the various techniques and advice Hoffman gives have become largely obsolete for technological or regulatory reasons, but the book iconically reflects the hippie zeitgeist.
"Survive!" describes techniques of obtaining "free" things through legal and extra-legal means to survive "on the run." It includes chapters on how to acquire food, clothing, furniture, transportation, land, housing, education, medical care, communication, entertainment, money, drugs, and other assorted items and services. Suggestions include the use of slugs, taking advantage of government and church hand-outs, and a variety of shoplifting techniques.
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