In the introduction to Steal This Book, famous 1960s protest organizer Abbie Hoffman describes the work as "a manual for survival in the prison that is Amerika," spelling the country's name incorrectly to show disrespect for the law. First published in 1971, it was rejected by over thirty publishers and then went on to become a best-seller when Hoffman published it himself. The book is a compendium of methods that individuals can use to live freely, without participating in the social order. These tips range in levels of legality from addresses of free health clinics and inexpensive restaurants to ways of cheating pay phones and methods for making explosive devices.

Even in its day, Hoffman's advice was of questionable practicality. Some of his tips, the more complicated ones, involve multiple identities and underworld connections; others, such as switching price labels while shopping, are so obvious that they seem hardly worth writing. As time has passed, most of the loopholes Hoffman exploits in this book have been closed, due in part to the attention this book brought to them. Still, Steal This Book is an important historical document, a lively example of a time when America's youth felt at war with the status quo, and petty crime was considered a justifi- able way to stand up against the corruption of the system.