The Anarchist Cookbook,   ISBN:9780974458908

Customer Rating: 

Mind the korny title, but with all seriousness this book was a good read. Cookbook - not really, information is a little wrong, but more along the collector's line of books. Its more of inspiration and philosophy, this symbolizes America, freedom to live, and maintain freedom. And in a socialist state as America is now, this book must be kept!

Customer Rating: 

I was sorely disappointed with this book. There are not enough pictures and diagrams. The ones that are included are poor quality. The material is old and seams to be a compilation of research by a Vietnam era hippie more than an authoritative volume. There is an entire chapter on drugs (from the 60's it appears)... what a waste of space and time. If I wanted to learn about illegal drugs I would have bought "The Drugmaker Cookbook" or some other such title! To top it off - it was not even an interesting or entertaining read!

Customer Rating: 

I used to own a copy of this book back in the 70s and I remembered it as being some dark, secret handbook of recipes and anarchy.

Somewhere over the years I lost my copy and had totally forgotten about it.

But at a recent gun show I saw copies for sale and being at the age where I am starting to get nostalgic for what I consider a "better time" (meaning the 70s and 80s), I picked up a copy to recapture some lost youth I suppose.

Oh my... how 30 years can change ones perception.

This book is interesting to read for its historical snapshot of late 60's drug induced hippy era idealism and anti-establishment rebellion, but otherwise THIS IS PRETTY DARNED FUNNY !!!!

As a degreed Chemist myself, I will say that maybe 30% of the formulas will actually work IF (and I stress IF) you don't kill yourself first because of the inherent dangers and lack of safety instructions. The other 70% of the formulas are pretty much rubbish.

As for the drawings and schematics for booby trap devices they are less detailed and about as useful as the pictures you see Wiley Coyote reading on a Road Runner cartoon.

Finally the forward by Peter Bergmann is so off the mark and now proven wrong by history that it dates the book horribly -- but as I said earlier also makes it a fun "snapshot of late 60s- early 70s" mentality among the youth culture.

It's a cute little relic and piece of "dark literature" from a simpler more innocent time in America --- but for those of you truly seeking to form your own world order, overthrow the government and let Anarchy run wild, you may want to look elsewhere for your motivation and education.

SMILE

I think it is VERY important to note that the original author of the Anarchist Cookbook has reportedly discredited this book publically and expressed his wishes that the book no longer be printed.

His reasons being that he wrote it when he was only a teenager and was expressing outrage and anger at the Vietnam War in the best way he knew how at that young age with so much pain and violence around him.

As with all of us who think we knew everything when we were 17 or 18 years old ------- WISDOM COMES WITH AGE AND EXPERIENCE. Mr. Powell has indicated he no longer supports the ideas expressed in this book and wishes it would dissapear so that hopefully no impressionable minds are influenced by it.

I respect him for that position.

Customer Rating: 

I had been looking for this book for quite some time. One quick search on Amazon leads me right to it.

Great book full of useful tips and plenty of things that I'm fairly certain would go horribly wrong if someone were to attempt them.

Keep in mind though, there are much easier ways to do some of the things in this book.

Customer Rating: 

Dear buyers,
Even though I am not obliged to partake in any activities suggested in this book, it is a very entertaining read. Many things I have pondered about and have wondered how to complete such tasks. A plethora of these are now clear to me as I have read this book. It is complete with how to grow and make drugs, make surveillance or combat it, and has a section on explosives. Overall, this is a genious book with intentions out of my range of activity. However, I do recommend it to others on behalf of the terms that nothing is actually re-enacted. Good luck! Good reading!