Zeitgeist

The German term zeitgeist means "the spirit of the time." It is often possible to relate the time in which an author was working to the moral and intellectual trends that prevailed when she or he was writing. For instance, the wealth and hedonism of the jazz age are important clues to understanding The Great Gatsby. In the case of Steal This Book, it would be almost impossible to separate the zeitgeist of 1960s America from Hoffman's writing style. The book is disorganized, repeating some advice and straying off its stated mission at what appears to be the author's whim. For instance, the section on "knife fighting" has little to do with the political subject of fighting off police oppression, assuming that no police anywhere use knives to attack criminal suspects; it is more likely a subject Hoffman had experienced and felt like including in this guide, despite...