Abbie Hoffman Didn't Make It to 75

Abbie Hoffman, a true rabble-rouser of the 1960s, would have turned 75 today. But old age never really seemed to be in his plans.

Pirate Editions

Abbie Hoffman and his Youth International Party collaborators ("Yippies," don't you know) fought against the Vietnam War by tweaking The Man anwhere and anyway they could.  America was the "Pig Empire," and in Hoffman's words, "To steal from a brother or sister is evil. To not steal from the institutions that are the pillars of the Pig Empire is equally immoral."

The against-all-establishment mindset found its purest form in Steal This Book, Hoffman's wonderfully-titled 1971 freak manifesto.  The book "includes advice on such topics as growing cannabis, starting a pirate radio station, living in a commune, stealing food, shoplifting, stealing credit cards, preparing a legal defense, making pipe bombs, and obtaining a free buffalo from the Department of the Interior," per Wikipedia.

The book is available free online (fittingly), in all its bizarrely detailed glory. Some of the entries have a real nostalgic glow.  Want to fly free without a ticket?

Locate the flight you want and rummage through a wastebasket until you find an envelope for that particular airline. Shuffle by the counter men (which is fairly easy if it's busy). When the boarding call is made, stand in line and get on the plane. Flash the empty envelope at the stewardess as you board the plane. Carry a number of packages as a decoy, so the stewardess won t ask you to open the envelope. If she does, which is rare, and sees you have no ticket, act surprised. "Oh my gosh, it must have fallen out in the wash room," will do fine. Run back down the ramp as if you're going to retrieve the ticket. Disappear and try later on a different airline. Nine out of ten revolutionaries say it's the only way to fly.

Gearing up for some street fighting? 

The boomerang is a neat weapon for street fighting and is as easy to master as the Frisbee. There is a great psychological effect in using exotic weapons such as this. You can buy one at large hobby stores. On the East Coast you can get one from Sportscraft, Bergenfield, New Jersey, for $2.69, and on the West Coast from Whamo, 835 El Monte St., San Gabriel, Calif., for $1.10.

Good luck with that, mate.

On the other hand, Hoffman then segues into actual knife-fighting advice: "Overhead and uppercut slashes are a waste of energy and blade power. The correct method is to hold the knife in a natural, firm grip and jab straight ahead at waist level with the arm extending full length each time."  Yikes! And then, of course, he dishes up shoplifting techniques. 

Controversial, obviously, which is just how Hoffman liked it. But Steal This Book is still on sale today at Amazon.com, complete with droll reader reviews.

After spending years on the run from a 1973 drug conviction, Abbie Hoffman reemerged in the 1980s as an organizer and author -- practically part of the establishment himself. He died in 1989, only 52, of an overdose of phenobarbital.  The coroner ruled it suicide.

See our full biography of Abbie Hoffman »