Survive!

[firsty]

i guess this is may be the place to officially plug my project:

http://stealthiswiki.nine9pages.com

we're updating abbie hoffman's original and hope to not only maintain a wiki called "Steal This Book part 2 - Steal This Wiki" but also publish a new print edition. we've got all the original content on the site for reference, and have been building new content ever since our july 4 2006 launch.

if you'd like to participate as a writer, editor, web geek or otherwise helpful revolutionary, we welcome one and all.

[Kat Kanning]

Hmm...reading the front page gives you no idea what the site is about if you don't know anything about the book.

[firsty]

so far it's only been sent to interested groups, other than a nice plug on boingboing.net right in the beginning.

but, it's a wiki, so everything is up for discussion and editing. i've set the main page article as locked to prevent spam and bots, but the discussion page is free to edit and ALL are invited to participate not only in the content but also in the presentation. thats the great thing about the wiki platform.

we simply havent tried to broadcast it for wide distribution because of the controversial material. if one is unfamiliar with the original, they won't understand the spirit of the update. we want people to become familiar with the original first - it's available in web form, pdf form, and all new content is shown alongside original content to put it into context.

again, tho, we strongly encourage feedback from all as well as content from all. you can edit any part of the site if you see potential problems, or discuss them on the site with others.

[Lex]

I don't think you will find many people on here who think that stealing is a good idea. Besides, surviving on theft isn't exactly self-sufficient because you are relying on others for goods, thus you become theft-dependent.

[firsty]

there is much more to the book than theft, but i appreciate your view on it. we dont advocate any illegal activities. my opinion on the theft material is that it could only be suitable for certain people at certain points, literally to survive.

there are also plenty of "freebies" that dont include any stealing or even borderline immoral activity, such as resources for free wifi, libraries, shelters, etc.

newspapers cost money, for instance, and millions of people in this country are uninformed about basic news simply because they dont have access. we hope to be able to distribute a new print edition to people on the fringes of society in order to help them inform themselves. the main idea is: revolution through information.

[Dreepa]

newspapers cost money, for instance, and millions of people in this country are uninformed about basic news simply because they dont have access. we hope to be able to distribute a new print edition to people on the fringes of society in order to help them inform themselves. the main idea is: revolution through information.

people are uninformed about basic news?
Well even if they read the 'major' newspapers they probably would still be uninformed.

People can read Newspapers for free in the library.
Hell ride public transportation and there are dozens of copies.  Just yesterday I read a copy of the Boston Globe that someone left behind.

[firsty]

Hell ride public transportation and there are dozens of couples.  Just yesterday I read a copy of the Boston Globe that someone left behind.

see, that would be the perfect kind of content to add.

[Braddogg]

I'm sure you've been asked this a thousand times, but I'm curious.  What would the author do if people actually started stealing her books and she made no money off of it and, in fact, the publisher made her pay for the cost of printing the books that were stolen?

[edit]  I've heard a bit about the book, btw, and it's definitely on my ever-growing "to read" list. [/edit]

[Money Dollars]

Abbie hoffman is an ugly chick, and dead 

[Lex]

Hell ride public transportation and there are dozens of couples.  Just yesterday I read a copy of the Boston Globe that someone left behind.

see, that would be the perfect kind of content to add.

I'm not convinced that riding public transportation is such great advice...

[firsty]

I'm sure you've been asked this a thousand times, but I'm curious.  What would the author do if people actually started stealing her books and she made no money off of it and, in fact, the publisher made her pay for the cost of printing the books that were stolen?

authors arent responsible for people stealing their books, much less for a book that is published under that title.

the LAST thing i could possibly be concerned with is making money off the book, and any publisher who chooses to help with printing, i'm sure, would be thrilled to simply recoup costs.

[Lex]

Abbie hoffman is an ugly chick, and dead 

Looks like a guy.

[firsty]

lex, if you're unfamiliar with the original book, it's not likely that you'll see right away the kind of information we're looking for. if you are familiar with the original (or would like to acquaint yourself with it), please feel free to visit the site - the book itself is available for download. we'd love to have you add ideas.

[Lex]

lex, if you're unfamiliar with the original book, it's not likely that you'll see right away the kind of information we're looking for. if you are familiar with the original (or would like to acquaint yourself with it), please feel free to visit the site - the book itself is available for download. we'd love to have you add ideas.

Somehow I doubt the book is so great that it cannot be explained in a few paragraphs. I did look at your wiki and clicked on the description of the book:

The book Steal This Book was written by Abbie Hoffman in 1970. It includes advice on such topics as growing marijuana, how to start a pirate radio station, live in a commune, steal food, steal credit cards, prepare a legal defense, make pipe bombs, and obtain a free buffalo from the US Department of the Interior.

I don't do drugs.
I don't really want to start a radio station.
A commune?!?
Steal food? Not very self-sufficient. Maybe grow your own food, does the book have a lot of that?
Steal credit cards?!?! How about get an honest job? Is that in there?
Prepare a legal defense sounds useful but something tells me Abbie is not a lawyer or an expert on the subject...
Make pipe bombs... while it may be useful in extreme circumstances there are much better books on the subject of weaponry.
What would I do with a buffalo?

[maineiac]

Dude,

I actually stole the original in '73 or '74! Good read!

I haven't stolen anything since about '80, though. The last thing I remember stealing was a Springsteen cassette, The River, from a hardware store in Alaska. Sorry, mofo's!



Reformed thief--maniac