Kelly is an instructor of creative writing and literature at College of Lake County. In this essay, Kelly considers whether Steal This Book is still relevant for readers in the twenty-first century.

Abbie Hoffman's best-known piece of writing, Steal This Book, has one of the most recognized and often copied titles in publishing history. Newspaper articles and books about Hoffman often use some variation on this phrase, such as Steal This Dream and Live This Book. A 2000 film about Hoffman's life was called Steal This Movie, leading many into the mistaken assumption that it was an adaptation of this random crazy-quilt of a book. Hoffman himself, knowing how much of a catchphrase the title had become, cannibalized his own work when he titled his 1987 book about America's anti-drug hysteria Steal This Urine Test.

The title is familiar all over the world, but like Thomas Wolfe's You Can't...