>>> Of all the things to go down the memory hole, some of the most tantalizing are creative works--books written but never published, songs and albums recorded but never released, etc. Among these phantom works is the sequel to Steal This Book, the late Abbie Hoffman's legendary manual on how to beat and/or blow up the system.

Rebuffed by all the major publishers (and a few independents, too), Hoffman--radical activist/prankster, founding Yippie, Chicago 7/8 defendant--published the book himself in 1971 under the imprint Pirate Editions. Despite running into resistance from distributors, retailers, and newspapers in which he wanted to advertise, Steal This Book became a New York Times bestseller and an all-time classic of subversive literature. (It is now published by 4 Walls 8 Windows.)

In one of Hoffman's last interviews (published in Pranks! from RE/Search Publications (1987)), Andrea Juno asked him: "Have you ever considered writing a sequel to Steal This Book?" He replied:

I did--it was 500 pages long. I submitted it to a publisher who went bankrupt and lost it--the only copy. I was totally heartbroken because it was the definitive work on counterfeiting, jewel smuggling--you name it. It's what people think Steal This Book is.

In the introduction to Steal This Book, Hoffman gave some hints about what else could've been in the lost sequel:

Watch for a special edition called Steal This White House, complete with blueprints of underground passages, methods of jamming the communications network, and a detailed map of the celebrated room where according to Tricia Nixon, "Daddy loves to listen to Mantovanni records, turn up the air conditioner full blast, sit by the fireplace, gaze out the window to the Washington Monument and meditate on those difficult problems that face all the peoples of this world."

front page | newest additions | index + search
about | contact | donate