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Steal This Book

by Abbie Hoffman · 1971

A driving force behind the social revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, Hoffman inspired a generation to challenge the status quo. Meant as a practical guide for the aspiring hippie, Steal This Book captures Hoffman's puckish… more

8 quotes ★ 3.61 (4,104) Nonfiction

Quotes from the Book

Free speech is the right to shout 'theater' in a crowded fire.
113
Usually when you ask somebody in college why they are there, they'll tell you it's to get an education. The truth of it is, they are there to get the degree so that they can get ahead in the rat race. Too many college radicals are two-timing punks. The only reason you should be in college is to destroy it.
76
The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it.
52
Smoking dope and hanging up Che's picture is no more a commitment than drinking milk and collecting postage stamps.
39
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.
32
Hep is a very dangerous disease that can cause a number of permanent conditions, including death, which is extremely permanent.
12
Every rock or molotov cocktail thrown should make a very obvious political point. Random violence produces random propaganda results. Why waste even a rock?
10
Democracy is not something you believe in or hang your hat on, but something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles and falls. If you participate, the future is yours.
4

About Abbie Hoffman

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About the book

A driving force behind the social revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, Hoffman inspired a generation to challenge the status quo. Meant as a practical guide for the aspiring hippie, Steal This Book captures Hoffman's puckish tone and became a cult classic with over 200,000 copies sold. Outrageously illustrated by R. Crumb, it nevertheless conveys a serious message to all would-be revolutionaries: You don't have to take it anymore. "All Power to the Imagination was his credo. Abbie was the best." —Studs Terkel

Book details

First published
1971
Goodreads rating
3.61 (4k ratings)

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