Revolution for the Hell of It: The Book That Earned Abbie Hoffman a Five-Year Prison Term at the Chicago Conspiracy Trial

By Abbie Hoffman and Free (Abbie Hoffman)

Book Overview

From one of America's most renowned dissidents and the author of Steal This Book -- a new edition of the counterculture manifesto that helped stir up a revolution in the 1960s

While the supremely popular Steal This Book is a guide to living outside the establishment, Revolution for the Hell of It is a chronicle of Abbie Hoffman's radical escapades that doubles as a guidebook for today's social and political activist.

Hoffman pioneered the use of humor, theater, and surprise to change the world for the better. In Revolution for the Hell of It he gives firsthand accounts of his legendary adventures, from the activism that led to the founding of the Youth International Party ("Yippies ) to the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests ("a perfect mess") that resulted in his conviction as part of the Chicago Seven.

Also chronicled is the the mass antiwar demonstration he helped lead in which over 50,000 people attempted to levitate the Pentagon using psychic energy and the time he threw fistfuls of dollar bills onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and watched the traders scramble. With antiwar sentiment once again on the rise and an incendiary political climate not seen since the book's original printing, Abbie Hoffman's voice is more essential than ever.

Includes a facsimile edition of Hoffman's rare first book, Fuck the System

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1560256907
• ISBN13: 9781560256908
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Revolation for the Hell of it.

This was the first writings of Hoffman I had ever read. It rewrites history and covers things I had never been expossed to. It is a dark book with energy and spunk. It reflects the things we are going through now with the same type of goverment tricks. We must take back of country from the frat boys who are running it into the ground.

Revolution? For the hell of it!

In his first book, Abbie Hoffman gave us an almost comical view of the revolution which he helped to jumpstart through the late 1960s. Through the humour, which has always been one of Abbie's strongpoints, you do see the sincerity of the man, and his cause (mainly civil rights, and anti-war) as well as his idea of what america (always spelled with a little "A") is supposed to be. I can't help but wonder though...what the movie was like.

If you don't read this book, then you're still asleep.

This isn't just a book that wakes you up. It grabs you by the shoulders, throws you against the wall, and hurls a bucket of water over your head while shouting "Look! Look! Look around you and see all the amazing things that you can do with your life!" Aside from being an engaging account of the events leading up to and including the protests around the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, "Revolution" is a shot in the arm and the head for anyone needing hints on how to jump-start their brain as well as the country. Some of the free tips are obviously out of date and no longer do-able, but Abbie Hoffman's humor and in-your-face criticism are both sadly missed and badly needed in these days of seemingly neverending corruption and governmental malignancy. Hoffman's sort of thinking will never go out of style, and "Revolution" is the perfect way to begin one's path down the road to the 60's under- and over-ground, which he tours with a flair and wit one could only hope all others acquire in the process.