The Anarchist Cookbook Reissue Edition by Powell, William published by Barricade Books Inc

by William Powell

Perhaps the most notorius How To manual on the market. This is the most asked for book that we know of. Is it any good? Well, it's now in its 29th printing since 1971, has chapters on home preparation of weapons, electronics, drugs, and explosives. Extensively illustrated, 8.5 x 11, 160 pp., softcover.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Reference, Banned Books, Science, History, Philosophy

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

American writer mostly known for his publication "The anarchist cookbook" which he denounced since then saying "I want to state categorically that I am not in agreement with the contents of The Anarchist Cookbook and I would be very pleased (and relieved) to see its publication discontinued. I consider it to be a misguided and potentially dangerous publication which should be taken out of print.”

Currently he is the co-director of the organisation "Education Across Frontiers" he also has written some books on international education.

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is getting all sorts of bad reviews. Its got people who don't like the concept of making drugs from bananas and peanuts. But it does have some things that prove useful. most of this book is crap, but some of it has been very useful in wasting a summer day making fireworks and other various experiments.

And don't be dumb enough to try to make drugs from 200 pounds of bananas. If you're dumb enough to buy 200 pounds of bananas, you're probably already on drugs.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because of its commentary on America. By that I don't mean to say that the rambling bs of the author is valid or insightful. I don't think the nutmeg or banana trippin is real or warrants a read. I do not believe the bomb making tutorials are the best to be found.

No what I love about this book is how blatantly useless it is, while somehow managing to be so feared and despised. I've heard a lot of people over the years say that ownership of this book is just cause for outrageous searches and punishments, that anybody with this book has a severe predilection to violence and that the book should be banned. Obviously those people haven't actually looked at this book.

But, it seems to my eye that that is a succinct observation about modern America. We don't care about substance, we care about hype. We don't need to see proof, we just need to hear scary background music.
We don't need to read a book to see if it is really the devil's best attempt to destroy humanity, we just need to believe as we're told.

At least we're the home of the brave in our songs.

[Joe Krakovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't let the title "The Anarchist Cookbook" fool you. This revolutionary handbook was written for patriots wishing to fight back against an oppressive government. Tailored to the US, but dated from 1971, the author claims to support neither the right nor the left in politics. As a matter of fact, the tone sounds like he considers both wings oppressive.

Today's misguided youth may think they are unique and out to change the world with protest marches, but according to the author, he sees this as foolish and, like Mau, he believes that the real power comes from the barrel of a gun. For those of us who grew up in the 70's, the Weathermen, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and Black Panthers spouted such revolutionary ideals. The big difference between then and now was politics versus racism, which is much more appealing to the masses.

Written much like a manual, (it seems like he copied pages and illustrations right out of US Army FMs) the author gives instructions on making and using weapons and explosives for guerilla warfare. Tactics are included.

He advises true revolutionaries to stay away from demonstrations. Valuable and practical advice is given on what to do if stopped or questioned by police. He advises not to talk back, argue, or resist arrest and to treat the officer with respect. That is the first step for staying out of jail. Failing that, advice is given on what to do and who to call if arrested. Unless you are a troublemaker with a record, Mom and Dad would get you out of jail as quick as any lawyer, at least in the 70's.

Wiretaps and listening devices are explained, for 70's technology. Addresses are listed for businesses that sold parts, kits, and ready to use equipment. 

Also included are recipes for making drugs, explosives, poison gas, and incendiary devices. I guess this part does make it a sort of cookbook, but unless you have serious lab experience, I would stay away from attempting to make them as he says that you will just kill yourself as well as innocent people, and I can see that happening. Many components and chemicals could be bought from the many small companies that flourish back in the day before being wiped out by the sinking economy.

Hand to hand combat is covered too, but my personal advice is that unless you spend countless hours practicing, don't think you are going to be another Bruce Lee just by reading this book. There was a deadly move mentioned though that I saw recently on a John Wick movie, so this guy must know what he is talking about.

The reason for the drug recipes was twofold. Drugs were seen then as a new (which it wasn't) recreational alternative to booze, and the drugs were very much a part of the anti-war movement of the day.

This book gives you a taste of the underground history as it was back then. Not for the squeamish. 

[Zany · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my personal library. Well. This was... interesting. Also slightly disappointing. I'd been hearing about this book in hushed conversations for as long as I can recall, and by its very controversial nature I'd determined one day to read it. I thought it was relatively modern. I was saddened to learn it was written in the late 60s. Result: much of the technological tomfoolery is no longer valid. Still, there are some cool things: recipes for LSD; how to hotwire a pre-1964 Chevy; how to build silencers; recipes for nitroglycerin, TNT; and the best placings for those concoctions to disable various types of bridges. But the instructions seemed very rudimentary to me. They mostly reminded me of the Monty Python skit where they give you instructions on how to play the flute (see link. It's well worth the watch).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNfGyI...

Anyway, the most interesting aspect is how I acquired this book. Found it at an estate sale in my neighbourhood. The house was literally over-packed with thousands of old books ($1 each!), mostly junk like Reader's Digest Condensed versions of Dickens, Proust, Hugo. The Cookbook seemed very out of place, and indeed, out of place is where I found it. With books all over the house, I found the Cookbook sitting by itself on a table of knickknacks, supervised by one of the sellers. Being that the Cookbook seemed intentionally separated from the thousands of other tomes, I assumed its price might be equally different. I asked, "How much?"

He said, "Not for sale. Gonna burn it later today."

I replied, "Hahaha. I understand. You could get put on a federal watch list just for owning that thing".

He responded with something akin to, "Yep," which carried a tone of "I'm not gonna let this book get into the hands of any impressionable youth. 'Murica's not gonna be compromised, not on my watch."

And I walked away, feigning as much ambivalence as possible, all the while knowing in my heart that I was not going to let that man burn that book. No, not on my watch.

I continued perusing the junk-- old records, 8 track tapes, lamps with dingy shades, though never letting that book out of my peripheral vision for more than 30 seconds. Guy at the knickknack table seemed pretty sure of himself, as if the very fact that he had the book sitting on the table in front of him meant that the book's fate was solidified, and that mere hours hence, it would be ashes.

I wandered about the house for an agonising 25 minutes, surreptitiously glancing at him at his table, listening as he answered questions from little old ladies about the prices of small porcelain doggy salt-and-pepper shakers. I waited, biding my time. He couldn't remain seated forever. Then it happened! He got up to go help some octogenarian discern the value of a piebald quilt in a bedroom.

I followed them into the bedroom to gauge approximately his level of commitment regarding the negotiation of this sought-after quilt. I didn't want to make my move too soon and have him appear suddenly back at the table as I was grasping the Cookbook.

The words they were exchanging gave an indication that there would have to be at least 75 more words between them before he could return to his table. Given their rates of speech and figuring in the amount of silence required between the end of one person's statement and the beginning of the other's, I calculated that I had a solid 45 second window. I made my move.

I went back to the table, picked up the most famous Cookbook in the world, and took it to the sweet little lady running the register at the front door. She smiled and asked if that would be all. I said yes. She said, "That'll be one dollar".

I handed her the required dollar and we exchanged thank-yous. I walked out the front door and into the most wonderfully sunshiny day I'd seen in years. Not only had I found a treasure, but I had saved a book from being burned by an information-suppressing Nazi. Life had meaning that day, my friends. Life. Had. Meaning.

[Sasha]

I learned many valuable things from this book, like the fact that smoking banana peels will not actually get you high, at least not the way Ryan and I did it, but it will give you a headache.

Actually that's all I learned. I dimly remember looking at the pipe bomb bit and thinking wow, that looks dangerous, I shouldn't do that.

I thought it would be fun to grab a copy of this, but a) it turns out that it's $24 which seems like a lot and b) here is a statement from William Powell:

I have recently been made aware of several websites that focus on The Anarchist Cookbook. As the author of the original publication some 30 plus years ago, it is appropriate for me to comment.

The Anarchist Cookbook was written during 1968 and part of 1969 soon after I graduated from high school. At the time, I was 19 years old and the Vietnam War and the so-called "counter culture movement" were at their height. I was involved in the anti-war movement and attended numerous peace rallies and demonstrations. The book, in many respects, was a misguided product of my adolescent anger at the prospect of being drafted and sent to Vietnam to fight in a war that I did not believe in.

I conducted the research for the manuscript on my own, primarily at the New York City Public Library. Most of the contents were gleaned from Military and Special Forces Manuals. I was not member of any radical group of either a left or right wing persuasion.

I submitted the manuscript directly to a number of publishers without the help or advice of an agent. Ultimately, it was accepted by Lyle Stuart Inc. and was published verbatim - without editing - in early 1970. Contrary to what is the normal custom, the copyright for the book was taken out in the name of the publisher rather than the author. I did not appreciate the significance of this at the time and would only come to understand it some years later when I requested that the book be taken out of print.

The central idea to the book was that violence is an acceptable means to bring about political change. I no longer agree with this.

Apparently in recent years, The Anarchist Cookbook has seen a number of 'copy cat' type publications, some with remarkably similar titles (Anarchist Cookbook II, III etc). I am not familiar with these publications and cannot comment upon them. I can say that the original Anarchist Cookbook has not been revised or updated in any way by me since it was first published.

During the years that followed its publication, I went to university, married, became a father and a teacher of adolescents. These developments had a profound moral and spiritual effect on me. I found that I no longer agreed with what I had written earlier and I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the ideas that I had put my name to. In 1976 I became a confirmed Anglican Christian and shortly thereafter I wrote to Lyle Stuart Inc. explaining that I no longer held the views that were expressed in the book and requested that The Anarchist Cookbook be taken out of print. The response from the publisher was that the copyright was in his name and therefore such a decision was his to make - not the author's. In the early 1980's, the rights for the book were sold to another publisher. I have had no contact with that publisher (other than to request that the book be taken out of print) and I receive no royalties.

Unfortunately, the book continues to be in print and with the advent of the Internet several websites dealing with it have emerged. I want to state categorically that I am not in agreement with the contents of The Anarchist Cookbook and I would be very pleased (and relieved) to see its publication discontinued. I consider it to be a misguided and potentially dangerous publication which should be taken out of print.

William Powell

So, I mean, jeez, it doesn't seem so fun now, I guess.

[sologdin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst Misnomer candidate here. Though introductory essay is written by someone who claims to be an anarchist, it contains some odd proclamations, such as the claim that Marx in Capital contends that state socialism is ‘feudal reactionary’ (12); this may well be true, though I can’t recall the passage, and no citation is provided. It is nevertheless contrary to the well-known passages from the Critique of the Gotha Programme wherein the famous two-phase revolution is laid out: socialism first, wherein the state is used to develop the productive forces and protect the revolution from the reactionaries, and communism second, wherein the state withers away and everyone basks in awesomeness.

Text proper is a mess. Proclaims that it is addressed to the “silent majority” so that they might “protect themselves against the fascists, capitalists, and communists” (27). States without irony that “the principles the United States was born with are about the best there are. So now revolution comes to mean revitalization, bringing America back to where she was two hundred years ago. This is the first time that I’ve thought of myself as a reactionary” (id.). Alrighty, then!

Author contends that “the only laws that an individual can truly respect and obey are those he instills in himself” (29). Am not seeing how this is part of anarchist doctrine; it is rather the primary principle, if it is in fact a principle, underlying the practice of lumpenized antisocial nihilists.

Chapter 1 concerns narcotics. There is no theoretical elaboration of WTF this has to do with anarchist political doctrine. It is certainly a text on the culinary arts, as it includes a recipe for marihuana brownies (37), inter alia. Credibility is damaged to the extent that author is apparently sufficiently credulous to believe that banana peels are intoxicants (55 ff.). Dude also embraces nutmeg and glue as intoxicants (58) as well as venomous toads (57). FFS. Is this Beavis & Butthead? FFS.

Chapter 2 concerns surveillance and related topics—generally a bunch of now-antiquated wiretapping discussion. Apparently, “the real duty of the revolutionary is to create and expose intolerable oppression” (61) (emphasis added). ORLY?! We learn that “so-called ‘revolutionary’ students in the colleges and universities are fighting for abstract ideals” (id.), which is bad, mmkay, whereas folks in the “rural South” are fighting for their “communities” (id.). Revolutionaries who work with unions nevertheless will never form a bond with the proletariat “by shouting Marxist dogma” (id.). So, yeah, barf. Advocates by contrast that the “same type of terrorism is being practiced in every ghetto of this country today [i.e., state on citizen violence], and it is my firm belief that the only way to stop it is to show everyone what terrorism is all about, and that two can play at the same game”(64). Charming.

Includes, in a surreal maneuver for an alleged revolutionary, a listing of shoppes wherein one might purchase electronics equipment for surveillance & countersurveillance purposes (70-71)—which is essentially an advertisement. Level of intellectual rigor is otherwise revealed in passages such as:

America at this point is operating on a life-size Monopoly board. Everyone who isn’t in jail or going directly to jail is buying and selling thousands of pieces of paper, with absolute seriousness of purpose, unable to realize that there will only be one winner, and when he gets out of jail, he’s going to kick all of their asses. (71)

In boasting of how much ‘research’ he conducted in order to draft the ‘cookbook,’ dude “encompassed almost all extremities of the political spectrum, from far left to far right. These extremities are so alike, and could be so powerful if they ever get over their preconceived impressions of each other and started to communicate” (71). Ugh. What possibly could the teabaggers and the KKK and the birchers and the objectivists and the Minutemen and the Idaho panhandle fascists and the Montana separatists and the southern secessionists and the mad NRx internet fedora-hatters communicate to someone like me, a Frankfurt Marxist attorney with training in the arts, hostility for religion and nationalism, and sympathy for post-structuralism? There is no common ground there; there can be no common ground.

Weirdly cites to Nkrumah for the proposition that the revolution must always communicate the truth to the people at multiple levels (72). Whatever do you mean, Mr. Anarchist Cooker?

How can an anarchist who has a right-wing background understand or relate to a left-wing anarchist, who uses Marxist terminology? This forces the underground to communicate with many different frames of reference. This hasn’t happened in this country: Everyone from far left to the far right is hung up with dogmatic ideals, overused terminology, and is absolutely blind to practicality. (id).(Emphasis added).

Down my way, we refer to this as severe Dunning-Kruger effect.

In the section on sabotage involving explosives, dude has the unmitigated gall to proclaim that “I do not speak of the tactics of nihilism, breaking windows and setting garbage cans on fire, for they accomplish nothing” (74). No, not nihilistic at all; rather, “I viewed myself as a saver of identities, as the Messiah of the Spirit of Individualism” (id.); but “there people didn’t want to be saved” (id.). So: “I was going to turn them all on to acid, but then I decided that a better tactic would be to screw up the object of their emulation, the computer” (id.). (So, is this just Kaczynski’s primitivism?)

Operative principles, disclosed incrementally like bread crumbs in the forest of faerie, do not suggest any leftwing bona fides:

There is no justice in bureaucracy for the individual, for bureaucracy caters only to itself. The writers, artists, and poets of the revolution will have a job that has never before in history been so great, for they must create a value structure for the New World, for The New American. (76)

And just in case the Nietzschean overtones are too subtle in that bit, it follows up with self-overcoming obsessiveness, also straight from the Zarathustra: “To be successful, man must change himself, the individual must have a revolution within himself” (id).

Chapter 3 is weapon porn. Begins with the lumpenized antisocial nihilist premise that “There is no justice left in the system. The only real justice is that which the individual creates for himself, and the individual is helpless without a gun” (78). Good job? Candor: “This may sound like the dogma expounded by radical rightwing groups, like the Minute Men. It is” (id.). (cf. my comments on the Minute Men manual.)

Why ever would he mess with this stuff? “Unity is the only way in which the people in this country can overthrow the fascists, communists, capitalists, and all the other assholes who claim running a representative government is so difficult” (id.) Uh?

Begins the gun porn section with foreplay regarding hand-to-hand combats, including gems such as “a clapping motion over the victim’s ears can kill him also immediately” (79). There follows a bunch of bullshit on knives, improvised weapons, and so on. And then guns. Guns after guns. Pages and pages of pistols and rifles, with prices and places to shop. It’s a fucking joke; it’s fucking gross. (Thereafter author presents poison gas recipes, including diagrams of laboratory setups.) Along with prices, it has drawings; it is accordingly reminiscent of a Dungeons & Dragons weaponry manual, but only for lumpenized pseudo-radicals who want to overthrow da gubmint in order to support da Constatooshun. (A fairly amazing view, considering that the government currently existing in the United States is precisely what is described in the Constitution thereof. Duh?) By contrast, one'd think that a proper anarchist would disagree vehemently with the Constitution (NB: his statements otherwise that the only law and justice that matter are self-oriented.)

Advises that “the major cause of the failure of the Minute-Men” is that “they have the weapons, but not the training or the technical know-how” (87), citing again weirdly to Nkrumah for the proposition that the guerrilla must be trained in the “justness and the reality of his cause” (id.). “It is impossible to explain Mao’s principles to a 14-year old. For that reason, the educators of the revolution must get rid of the archaic terminology, and speak to people, rather than down to them” (id.), because apparently the purpose of education is to flatter & comfort, the reaffirmation & reinscription of error, rather than to diagnose & cure, the confrontation with & uplifting from idiocy. Motherfucker. Motherfucker.

Author’s enlightened ideas on firearms: “Every person, whether in wartime or not, should keep a pistol and rifle in his house at all times” (93). “A true man [!], in the real sense of the word [as opposed to the false sense?], is like a wild animal [?], in that his freedom, and the freedom of his family, is based on one factor: his ability to protect himself and his family [women can’t have grrrrrns, I guess?] from outside restrictions” (id). Apparently the United States has evolved to the point that “men believe they are men, just because of their birthright,” which is not really controversial, since the vast majority of persons are in fact assigned a sex at birth, but “if that is true, then, by the same logic, an animal held captive in a zoo is still a wild free beast” (id.). Because being not a ‘man’ is apparently exactly identical to being caged in a zoo? Is that uncharitable? Not really:

A male must make himself a man, he must enable himself to stand up on two legs, unafraid because he has confidence in his own security and in his own power. There is no place for emotionally or politically cuckolded [!] people in the society I speak of. Survival of the fittest. If we must have violence, then let it be real violence, let it be for survival, and not halfway around the world for ‘ideals.’ Emasculation, if allowed to take place, can lower a man or woman [!] to the state of a domesticated, well-trained animal: performing tricks, begging for food, and relying totally on an outside force for his right to survive. (id.)

So, yeah. It’s indistinguishable from neo-reactionary and other crypto-fascistic bullshit.

Chapter 4 concerns explosives. The political maturity is well-established by comments such as

The actual application of explosives can be a really thrilling and satisfying experience. I have a friend who worked with demolitions in the Middle East, and he has told me on several occasions that an explosion for him was an experience very similar to a sexual orgasm. (112)

We are therefore not surprised when he outs himself conclusively as an arriere garde philistine:

When I use the term revolution, I do not use it in the same context or with the same meaning of Che Guevara, or Lenin, or anyone else. I see ‘the revolution’ as a humanistic change, which may or may not incorporate violence. It must be a revitalization [cf. Griffin! Cf. Paxton! Cf. Neumann! Cf. Lemkin!] of the American system to take us back [?!] to the real moral and political principles adopted in 1776 [!!!!!!!]. Maybe I am not a revolutionary [ORLY!], but then it is all terminology, and more intolerance [!] has sprung out of semantic misunderstandings than any other cause [?!?!]. (112-13)

Thereafter follow instructions (who knows how reliable) for the home manufacture of nitro glycerin, trinitrotoluene, and other explosives—pages and pages and pages. A good indicator of author’s sense of responsibility:

Probably the most hazardous explosive compound of all is nitrogen tri-iodide. Strangely enough, it is very popular with high schools chemists, who do not have the vaguest idea of what they are doing [whereas author by contrast has a PhD in applied chemistry?]. The reason for its popularity may be the ready availability of the ingredients, but it is so sensitive to friction that a fly landing on it has been known to detonate it [?]. The recipe has only been included as a warning and as a curiosity. It should not be used. (121)

After many pages of bombs and traps and whatnot, concludes with a political postscript, wherein author wonders why “with so many so-called ‘intelligent’ people running about that we still had a state, a government, a bunch of archaic laws” (154). Rather, “I don’t particularly care if it’s legal, illegal, moral, immoral, or amoral. I want to do it, so I do it. The only laws a man can truly respect are the ones he makes for himself” (id). Needless to say, this is very far removed from any known leftwing doctrine, and is contrary to most traditional rightwing doctrines. It is manifestly lumpenized antisocial nihilism. Cites then to Heinlein’s Moon is a Harsh Mistress for the proposition that taxation is evil (id).

Author then proceeds to offer “common sense legal advice” (he is not an attorney, as far as I can discern). Gems here include the thesis that “If you are held for questioning, you are treated the same way as if you were arrested, but you have none of the legal rights you have if you are under arrest” (155)—this is a false proposition of law in the United States, incidentally—and that “Judges get pissed off when defendants try to defend themselves. I was once called ‘a dirty layman,’ when trying to defend myself in a civil case, by some old asshole judge” (156). (NB: ‘defend oneself’ is normally a criminal law concept; author means that he proceeded pro se in a civil matter, and apparently presented disingenuous arguments in court.)

Concludes with the illiberal proposition that “Freedom is based on respect, and respect must be earned by the spilling of blood” (157). So, yeah, one of the worst texts ever written, up there with Ayn Rand, Papa Freds Hayek, and so on.

Recommended for those with an absolute hatred of vending machines, readers who hate demonstrations because they are sponsored by the government to give cops a heyday, and persons who do not know what they are doing and therefore the chances are extremely great that they will blow their heads off.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you accidentally want to blow yourself up, then this book is for you.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm probably already on some government lists thanks to this book, so what's another entry. To hide the book from my parents, I ripped out the pages of 'Children's Stories of the Bible' and glued the AC in its place.
I think I actually tried the nutmeg method of getting stoned when I was 13. It didn't work. A lot of the stuff in this book didn't work.
Still a great read. I can picture a sweaty William Powell trading banana-skin hash to his buddy to do the illustrations. I liked the random quotes from Marx and Eugene Debs.

[Chefwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

LAME!!! Could also be titled,"A Big Long List of Crap That You Must Be Stoned to Even Consider Trying in The First Place, Because You Will Probably Die or Cause Yourself Permanant Brain & Bodily Damage".

[লোচন · Rating 4 out of 5]

দুনিয়ার যত নিষিদ্ধ জিনিস আছে, সবগুলারে ঘরে বইসা বানানোর রেসিপি যেন এই বইতে দেওয়া। বইটা আগে অনলাইনে পাওয়া যাইত না, টরেন্টে টেক্সট ফাইল হিসাবে ছড়ায়ে ছিটায়ে থাকত, আমরা গ্রামীণের মডেম ঢুকায়া ডায়াল আপ ইন্টারনেটে গুঁতাগুঁতি করতাম। অনেক সময় সিডার থাকত না, ডাউনলোড হয় কি হয় না... জঘন্য অবস্থা। আর এখন তো সবখানেই এভেইলেবল। তথ্যও যোগ হইছে অনেক।

১৯৭১ সালে লিখিত হওয়ায় যে সকল হ্যাকিং বা ফ্রিকিং সম্পর্কে তথ্য দেওয়া ছিল, তার অধিকাংশ এখন অচল। আমরা আপডেট হয়া গেছি। কিন্তু অন্য উপায়গুলার বাজার আছে এখনো।

যেমন ধরেন আপনের মাদকের প্রতি দারুণ আগ্রহ। এইখানে দেখবেন ���লা, বাদাম, গেছো ব্যাং এর চামড়া এইসব অদ্ভুত জিনিস থেকে মাদক বানানোর উপায়। দেখবেন মর্নিং গ্লোরি ফুলগাছের বীজ (দারাজে বেচতাছে) থেকে কিভাবে এলএসডি বানানো যায়। কিভাবে ঘরোয়াভাবে গাঁজা চাষ করতে হয়। গাঁজার বিস্কুট, স্যুপ, বা সস বানাইতে হয়। বিড়ি থেকে নিকোটিন কনসেন্ট্রেট করে বিষ বানানো শিখবেন, যেইটা কফিতে মিশায়া মানুষ খুন করা যায়।

কিভাবে বিপদজনক বিস্ফোরক তৈরি হয় সেগুলা জানবেন। সোডিয়াম ক্লোরেট, মারকিউরি ফুলমিনেট, ব্ল্যাক পাউডার, নাইট্রিক এসিড, পিকরিক এসিড, আরডিএক্স...

বোমা বানাইতে চান? প্লাস্টিক এক্সপ্লোসিভ, স্মোক বম্ব, থার্মাইট বম্ব, নাপাম বম্ব, ডাইনামাইট, নাইট্রোগ্রিসারিন, ফার্টিলাইজার বম্ব, টেনিস বল দিয়া বানানো গ্রেনেড, পাইপ বম্ব, ক্যালসিয়াম কার্বাইড বম্ব... তালিকা লিখে শেষ করা যাবে না। কিভাবে এসব বানাইতে হবে তা উপাদান ও উপায় সমেত বর্ণিত আছে। সব মিলায়ে প্রথম নজরে মনে হবে খুবই বিপদজনক বই।

কিন্তু একটু ভাবলেই ফাঁকিটা ধরা যায়। ওই মাদক তৈরির রেসিপি, তালা ভাঙ্গার উপায়, হিপনোটাইজ করার পদ্ধতি এইসবে কিঞ্চিৎ সত্যতা থাকতে পারে। কিন্তু প্রকৃত বিপদজনক, সন্ত্রাসীমূলক কর্মকান্ড যেগুলা— ধরেন বোমা টোমা বানানো— ওইসবে আদৌ একরত্তি সঠিক তথ্য দেওয়া আছে বইলা আমার বিশ্বাস হয় না। তাইলে ঘরে ঘরে কৌতূহলী এনার্কিস্ট, নইলে বিদ্রোহী টেররিস্ট পয়দা হইত। সর্বোচ্চ এইটা হইতে পারে যে রেসিপি সঠিক, কিন্তু রেসিপিতে এমন জিনিস লাগবে যেইটা সিভিলিয়ানের পক্ষে সংগ্রহ করা অসম্ভব। খোঁজ করতে গেলেই টনক নড়বে, সন্দেহের লিস্টিতে নাম উঠে যাবে। একরকমের ফাঁদ আরকি!

থ্রিলার লেখকেরা চাইলে নজর বুলাইতে পারেন। ভালো রসদ আছে, চিন্তার খোরাক পাইবেন। একেকটা রেসিপি পড়তে পড়তে বিটিভির ম্যাকগাইভারের কথা মনে পড়তেছিল। দাঁড়ান, একটা নিরাপদ নিরীহ এন্ট্রি তুইলাই দেই:

কিভাবে খালি হাতে কাউকে খুন করতে হয়

"হাতে-হাতে যুদ্ধে নামতে হইলে সবসময় মনে রাখবেন, জীবন বাজি রাইখা নামতাছেন। আপনের একটাই উদ্দেশ্য: প্রতিপক্ষরে খুন করা। কোনোদিন মনে কইরেন না যে মাটিতে পইড়া গেলে, বা অজ্ঞান হইলেই ছাইড়া দিমু। উঁহু। তাইলে দেখবেন এই দুর্বলতার সুযোগ নিয়া উলটা আপনারেই মাইরা ফালাইছে।

প্রথমেই অস্ত্র খুঁজবেন। আশেপাশে কিছু না পাইলে আল্লাপ্রদত্ত অস্ত্রই সম্বল। এমন অস্ত্র আটটা:
১. হাতের যে অংশ দিয়া জ্যাকি চ্যান কারাতে চপ মারে
২. হাতের মুঠি
৩. মধ্যমাঙ্গুলের গাঁট
৪. হাতের তালু
৫. ঠ্যাং
৬. কনুই
৭. হাঁটু
৮. দাঁত

ভারসাম্য ঠিক রাখা জরুরি। দুই পা ছড়ায়া দাঁড়াইবেন, ডাইন পা থাকবে বাম পা থেকে একটু আগানো। শরীরের ভর পায়ের পাতার উপরে, মাজা একটু সামনের দিকে ঝুঁকবে, দুই হাত মুঠি পাকায়া বক্সারের ভঙ্গিতে নিয়া আসবেন মুখের সামনে।

আক্রমণ ছাড়া উপায় নাই। সর্বশক্তি দিয়া আক্রমণ করবেন, দেখবেন শত্রুর কোন না কোন দুর্বল জায়গা ঠিকই বের হয়া আসছে। আক্রমণ করার সময় একই সাথে চিল্লাবেন, চিল্লানির উদ্দেশ্য দুইটা:
১. শত্রুরে আতঙ্কিত আর বিভ্রান্ত বানাইতে,
২. চিল্লানির কারণে আপনে বড় বড় কইরা শ্বাস নিবেন, এই সুযোগে রক্তে বেশি কইরা অক্সিজেন ঢুকবে।

আক্রমণ করবেন কোথায়? দুর্বল জায়গা চিনে ন্যান:

১. চোখ: দুই আঙ্গুল ঢুকায়া খুবলায়ে পারলে চোখের মণি বের কইরা নিয়াসবেন।

২. নাক: প্রথমে নাকের উপরে জোরে ঘুষি মারেন। ঠিকমত লাগাইতে পারলে নাক ভাইঙা যাবে, তীক্ষ্ম ব্যথা, ক্ষণিকের জন্য অন্ধ হয়া যাবে শত্রু। এই সুযোগে তালু দিয়ে নাকটারে উপরের দিকে আরো জোরে ঠেলা মারবেন। নাকের ভাঙা হাড় ব্রেনে ঢুইকা যাইব। ব্যস, সাথে সাথে মৃত্যু।

৩. অ্যাডামস অ্যাপল বা কণ্ঠা: সাধারণত এইটা প্রটেক্টেড থাকে। কিন্তু সুযোগ পাইলে জ্যাকি চ্যানের মত ঘুষি বা কনুই মারবেন এইখানে। উইন্ড পাইপ আলাদা হয়া যাইব, শ্বাস আটকায়া মিনিটের মধ্যে খতম।

৪. কপালের দুই পাশ: বড় শিরা আছে কপালের দুই দিকে, ফুইলা ফুইলা উঠতাছে দেখবেন। জোরে হিট করতে হবে। আর তাছাড়া যদি দেখেন শত্রু কোনভাবে মাটিতে পইড়া গেছে, তখন লাত্থি মারবেন এই জায়গাতেই।

৫. ঘাড়ের পেছনটা: ঘাড়ের গোড়ায় ভারি কিছু দিয়া মারতে পারলেই হবে।

৬. উপরের ঠোঁট: অনেকগুলা নার্ভপয়েন্ট আছে এইখানে। কপাল দিয়া ঢিব দিতে পারেন, ঘুষাইতে পারেন, কনুই মারতারেন।

৭. কান: শত্রুর মাথার দুইপাশে দুই হাত নিয়া কানের উপরে জোরে থাবড়া মারেন। পর্দা ফেটে গেলে ইন্টারনাল ব্লিডিং শুরু হয়া যাবে। ব্রেইন ড্যামেজ।

৮. দুই ঠ্যাংয়ের মাঝখানে: হাঁটু মারবেন।

৯. কিডনি: পাঁজর আর তলপেটের মাঝখানের জায়গাডা। গুরুত্বপূর্ণ নার্ভ থাকে এইখানে। ঘুষি মারবেন।

খালি হাতে শত্রুরে নিস্ক্রিয় করার আরও অনেক উপায় আছে, কিন্তু নরমাল সিভিলিয়ানের জন্য এইগুলাই বেস্ট। মনে রাইখেন, এই মেথডগুলা জীবন বাঁচানোর জন্য যখন লড়তাছেন, একমাত্র তখনকার জন্য প্রযোজ্য। হুদাই হাতাহাতি-ঠেলাঠেলি হইলে আবার কাজে লাগাইতে যায়েন না। তাইলে মানুষ হয় মরবে কিছু, নয় ভয়ানক ভাবে আহত হবে।

আর হাত, ঠ্যাং ইত্যাদি শক্ত করার জন্য নিয়মিত ব্যায়াম আর অনুশীলন কইরেন। তাইলে ব্যথা সহ্য করার ক্ষমতা বাড়বে, রিফ্লেক্স দ্রুততর হবে। গুডলাক!"

[Kirk Bresniker · Rating 1 out of 5]

So my brother gave me this as a joke a long time ago and it sat in a drawer and I didn't think much of it. I can remember when we were in high school that this was something that people passed around or talked about. Somehow the topic of the book came up with my son who is now in eighth grade, so I got it out and looked through it with him. From the forward on "Anarchism Today" through the sections on telephone sabotage, it is an anachronism, and if it is possible, verging on quaint. The instructions themselves are the barest of sketches and would most likely do the most damage to the unfortunate person trying to follow them. Nostalgia is the biggest draw for the book, not for the information, but for a time when this was the way that information had to be distributed by rogue presses and hand drawn sketches. It was still enough to get my son sent to the principal's office when a teacher saw it in his backpack at school, which left me bouncing back and forth between annoyed at my son and amused because the information is so useless compared to what a google or youtube search would get.

[Wes · Rating 3 out of 5]

IF YOU WANNA LEARN HOW TO GROW POT THEN THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. MOST OF THE BOOK IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE BUT IT WAS WRITTEN ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO. SINCE THIS IS THE CASE MOST OF THE SECRET KNOWLEDGE BACK THEN HAS BECOME INTEGRATED INTO COMMON KNOWLEDGE. THE BEGINNING IS FUN LOVING TEACHING YOU ABOUT DRUGS AND EXPEREINCES THEN IT GETS MORE INTO STRATEGIES OF ANARCHY. TEACHES TO HOT WIRE OLD CHEVY'S STEAL THINGS, MAKE BOMBS AND SUCH. THIS BOOK IS ILLEGAL TO OWN SO IT SAYS. I DON'T MIND IT BUT THEIR ARE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ANARCHY. I AM KIND OF A BACK SEAT ANARCHIST I WILL COMPLAIN ABOUT THE CORRUPTION IN THE SYSTEM BUT I DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO HURT OTHERS TO PROVE A POINT.

[Dead Inside · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had this book in my possession when I was 10 years old,before digital anything, things were real. I do not know what happened to my copy, my parents probably sold it at a garage sale. Hopefully to another lost 10 year old.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad I read this. It has been on my TBR for a while since it is has an extremely controversial history & was very regularly challenged. Had to borrow from a private university as public libraries haven’t kept it on shelves (which I understand, with a copyright date of 1971 it contains a lot of outdated information on a very niche subject: revolution lol).

Fascinating read. I hope I never need to use any of the info though. It was chilling to read about how to make lethal weapons (including injectable darts) & manufacture illegal drugs. Did you know certain toad skins can be dried & smoked for a hallucinogenic effect? Banana peels can be made into drugs too. Household chemicals can be concocted into dangerous explosives. This book has the actual step-by-step for how to do all of that.

The chapter on surveillance/sabotage & bugging was painfully outdated with the use of cell phones being so prevalent now.

Pretty dark stuff. But again, fascinating nonetheless. Now I know how to make a Molotov cocktail!!! Just in case…

[Christopher Stockwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's be realistic about this book. It's not an amazing read. In fact, anything this book might have told you thirty, forty, or fifty years ago can be easily researched on the web in a few minutes. Not only that, but you'll get much more accurate and useful information from a deep dive into a subject on the web, especially the dark web. Much like George Hayduke's dirty tricks and revenge oriented books, this book stands more as symbol if not a practical guide.

I believe I got this in 1990, when I was fourteen. It was outdated even then, but that simple sleek black, white, and red cover drew my eyeballs to it immediately. I'd met some older skaters and punks around Tacoma, and this book always seemed to come up in conversation. Having a copy on your bookshelf was a badge of honor indicating that you belonged the counterculture. It was a big banner notifying friendlies and foes of where you were placing yourself in society.

Anyway, I gave it four stars, not because it's a four star read, but because I owe it something. Much like punk and hardcore music, this book pointed me toward a way of looking and thinking about the world and the people in it. Much like punk and hardcore music, it only gave me a primer, the basic building blocks of a different way of thinking, not a comprehensive ideology. Much like punk and hardcore, it encouraged me to seek out other sources so that I could expand my mind. Much like punk and hardcore, it encouraged me to think for myself and disagree loudly when I saw injustice. So give it up for The Anarchist Handbook, not a great book, definitely no recipes with actual food, but a pretty good societal provocateur and battle cry for wayward youth.

[Will Hassett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember my older brother telling me how hard it was to find this book. He said it wasn't any good at all but it was more for show. He was definately right. This book is more likely to get you killed then it is to get you high or make a bomb. I don't think any of the so called 'anarchist recipes' work in this book. Sadly I tried the 'bananadine'. Doesn't work at all. Just tastes bad. But like my brother said this book is just for show. It's pretty entertaining and funny to read but if your dumb enough to actually try the stupid recipes in this book then you need some help. Nevertheless it's a fun book to read.

[Hamid Reza · Rating 1 out of 5]

Teaching self proclaimed anarchists how to sabotage society, injure and kill others and wreak havoc. What can possibly go wrong?!

[Eric Lawless · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hey, let's make bombs and shit! ;)

[Mike Correll · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered this book as a fourteen-year-old, through word of mouth, at my local public library. I was pleased, first and foremost, that the book was available at my library and second because I possessed a student ID card, which meant I could check it out. Checking it out proved to be tricky because they did not allow you to remove the book from the library, evidently too many copies had not been returned. Instead, you were required to trade your ID for the book and remain inside the library in plain view (no doubt the ID cards were photocopied by the library attendants for future reference). During that era there were no copy machines available to library users, so copious notes were made during a four-hour period, all of which related to drugs. I was fascinated by the concept of drugs and, having been tasked by my physical science teacher with doing a report on hallucinogens, I was eager to discover the real information. I was disappointed to find that most of the drug-related content was either too complex (talking chemistry here), or too silly for me (at the time...fast-forward one year and I was scraping the insides of banana peels, cooking it in the oven, and smoking it). End of the day, as an adult I cannot, in good conscience, give it much more than a three. Yay for the freedom of information; boo for violence. I felt the same about Poor Man's James Bond #2, and you can find my review here: Poor Man's Review.

[Charlie Mills · Rating 1 out of 5]

A thoroughly toothless call to arms for all the basement dwellers of the world.
Truly only two people are ever moved by literature of this type; Rich, upper class youth, rebelling against their prim and proper heritage or Lower class fools who believe the deck of life is permanently stacked against them because they’re too stupid or naïve to realise that Anarchy is a system based solely on the moral characteristics everyone’s fellow man, it’s just unfortunate that most of our fellow men would eat each other if it meant they were one step closer to their own personal mental and physical equilibrium.

[Jan Willem · Rating 3 out of 5]

rating this 3 stars so the fbi won't think im making lsd in my bathtub

[Todd N · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always been curious about this book, so when I heard it mentioned on Rachel Maddow's show a few days ago I searched for it on Google. The PDF was one of the first hits. (No way I was going to pay the publisher any money, especially after the author has disavowed the book and asked that it not be published any more.)

This book works best as an artifact of the 70's, in particular the bummery part of the 70's. There is a lot of talk about revolution, freeing one's mind, and standing up to the man. The philosophy weaved through the book, such as it is, was probably a pretty groovy rap for picking up girls with long hair and headbands, but I don't think it could survive the morning sun and running out of pot.

The first chapter is on drugs because I mean what's the point of revolution if your mind is still in chains, right? Some of the recipes are downright ludicrous like how to get high from bananas and peanut shells. But this is what life was like before the Internet. Misinformation moved slowly like bugs in amber, not like the crazy water bugs we have 30+ years later.

Then there is a delightful chapter on bugging and sabotage. There are handy tips on shoplifting, and how to do it in a way that stays true to the revolution. Then the next page talks about executing people who violate the code of the revolution. What the...? How did we get from stealing ham to killing infiltrators?

It turns out that this book was written by a 19-year-old who basically copied and pasted a bunch of stuff from military manuals and whatever else was laying around. The anecdotes are completely made up, as if the one about buying peyote in Mexico wasn't a dead giveaway.

Then there is a chapter about hand-to-hand combat that would probably only be useful to that poor Star Wars kid from the video.

Then there is a chapter on how to make explosives and how to use them to blow up stuff. There is even a helpful diagram showing the 10 or so places you need to put charges on a suspension bridge to bring it down. It's hard not to smile at the thought of a bunch of guys dressed in 70's clothes crawling around a suspension bridge with their homemade TNT in an effort to stick it to the man. Soundtrack by Isaac Hayes. Or maybe the A-Team theme.

Then the book is over, and you are now a revolutionary. Go out and kill the pigs and wake people up from their sleep and blind obedience to the machine and execute an infiltrator and meet a beautiful hippie chick and make her some pot-laced spaghetti from one of the recipes in chapter one.

If I had a time machine I would go back to 1970 and show Mr. Powell that Nike commercial with The Beatles' Revolution just to break his little revolutionary heart.

Both sides lost -- the hippies and the pigs. The world is controlled by multinational corporations. Hmm, maybe I'll write a book about how to defend yourself and fight back against these corporations. Some jerk can laugh at me in 30 years.

Disclaimer: A lot of very bad stuff went down in the 70s. There was plenty of stuff to protest against, and a lot of brave people protested and made their voice heard. I have the privilege of knowing some of them.

But this book is not the way forward and it is more likely to get you blown up then to change the world. The author agrees with me on this.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently found this in an old keepsake box and thought it was funny enough that I decided to use it for my profile pic. Don't worry, I'm not going to blow you up. In fact, I couldn't, if I was only using information from this outdated, wildly inaccurate book.
As a kid, I ordered this from Barricade Books, which also offered Vietnam-era military training manuals and the like. My friends and I knew immediately from the hilariously crude illustrations and rambling diatribes that the information was suspect at best. The Poor Man's James Bond was a much more reliable book on booby traps and improvised weapons, even if it was written by a right-wing survivalist lunatic.
But Cookbook is still an amusing read. I admit, we tried the "bananadine" recipe. Nothing except a coughing fit. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the idea of getting high on banana peels is a hoax, and the book's author fell for it.

[Christine Kenney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Skimmed after watching the American Anarchist documentary to more fully savor the irony of the situation (author goes on to be an educator of at-risk youth).

The intro didn't further my understanding of anarchist philosophy because it was so steeped in Nixonian era current events and seemed to use anarchism interchangeably with nihilism and Marxism. Maybe those who were alive in the 70's could help translate for those of us who came of age after the fall of the USSR.

While I wasn't looking for a how-to on this content, it seems that the internet could offer a far more thorough overview.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many recipes in this book are dangerous and/or have the possibility of failure. The author at the time was pretty much uninformed and untrained in the usage of most of these tips and tricks.
For a better handbook on the subject check out "Anarchist Cookbook 2000" or "New and Improved Anarchist Cookbook," both of which are available in PDF format online and are in some ways better (more informed, more recent) and yet more dangerous.
PMZ

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be not only out dated but not as forth comeing with information as most make it out to be of course this is the sold off second version of the book and has been redacted it dose tell how to make some screens and a few weapon like things but nothing you couldn't look up or figure out on your own I did enjoy the options and the views on government take over and political actions very intriguing

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gives some general information on how to wage war against the government on a small scale. Better information can be found in military manuals. The is a large secion devoted to the manufacturing or cultivation of drugs for recreational use.

[Flint · Rating 1 out of 5]

Inaccurate recipes, even worse politics.

[Adam McPhee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh hell yeah dude, come over to my place after school we're gonna make our own fireworks and get high off banana peels

[Nico Battersby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Considering many of the recipes are either too old to work, dangerous to the maker or straight up lies - I'd suggest to avoid this book.