Revolution for the Hell of It: The Book That Earned Abbie Hoffman a 5 Year Prison Term at the Chicago Conspiracy Trial

Book Description

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 shock value to drive home his points, and 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—or "Yippies!—to the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests ("a Perfect Mess") that resulted in his conviction as part of the Chicago Seven. Also chronicled are the mass demonstrations he led in which over fifty thousand 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 in a furor and an incendiary political climate not seen since the book's original printing, Abbie Hoffman's voice is more essential than ever.

Customer Reviews:

Abbie is a naive punce who no one remembers.......2007-05-26

Abbie knew what he was fighting against ... but I don't think he had a clue about what he was fighting for.

I admire anyone willing to get in the ring so to speak... But anyone who's hero is Fidel Castro and also believes in "individual freedom" needs to have his head examined.

Abby thought that freedom is the freedom for the ego to move through life without obstruction. Needless to say, this is a child's view of freedom.
He never understood that in life one must learn reckon with sail, wind and tide ... and freedom is only found when one learns to do that.

Abbie merely spit into the wind... and got angry when it "had the audacity" to blow back on him.

If he had lived longer, perhaps he would have learned to pick and choose his fights with a little more discrimination.

Revolation for the Hell of it........2006-02-25

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 Autonomy and Freedom.......2005-08-25

A great book! A revolutionary book. Yes, a sign of it's times and yet very relevant to this time in respects to action and freedom, long lost ideals in today's Right wing conservative society, at least by the majority. Although it was only a segment then too, it was a greater segment amidst a large sea of liberal tolerance and open dialogue. Obviously there was much Right conservativism then too, and staunch power control conservativism within the Democratic liberal front as seen by the whole Chicago convention affair, Mayor Daley, the brutality of the cops and so forth. Even on St. Marks Place in NYC, Hoffman speaks of the heavy police presence and harassments. So much of what is written at that time applies to today and it's overkill and abuses of privacy and freedom, all excused under the new "war on terror" banner flying through out and it's blinded patriots and nationalists.

It's the vision of liberty and the idea of the abolishment of property and ownership and yet this is not a book on communist maxims and tight political formulas, not at all. It is a book about the freedom of individual expression, autonomy, and most of all creativity in action. The heroes and influences are Che Chevarra, Castro and Cuba, Camus, McLuhan. The times have changed, things have regressed back to the masses glued to their ego roles as sole personal identification, taking too seriously, resulting in additional laws, loss or private rights, and most of all wars. Same as then it is now, except there were a great group of young minds that had the doors of their perceptions opened up through psychedelics and were able to see through and above the superficial roles that today are taken so seriously, the actions of intolerance, exclusiveness, cultural power domination, imperialism and internal restrictions masked under hidden agendas.

Except they the MOB, Yippies and so forth, were so radical and yet, that is what is needed in any revolution. Although the harassment that comes with it with outright false charges and even beatings applied by the cops and the government that it questions whether it is all worth it. It is, and it isn't, at least someone has to speak up. I am so grateful to the people of today such as Michael Moore who dare speaks up. And his is attacked and criticized for it immensely. Even mothers who children have died from war and are now protesting the Iraq war are met with severe opposition from George W. Bush nationalists and Christian religious fundamentalists.

Personally speaking, I wish there were perceptive openness today in people and those that spoke out against the police domination and conservative aggression played by the power people and moralist absolutists, but I prefer hermitude whenever possible and thus avoid all confrontations and abuses by those with power. Perhaps that is a cop-out, but it is safer and in reality, paradise is within and so is hell. There is also power in numbers and when the majority is under the spell of the propaganda of the leaders then the fight is that much harder. This book, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Peel, John Lennon, Dave Dillinger, & many more go down as great revolutionaries for their times and this book, despite being radical in many ways, expounds much profound wisdom.

At the end of the book is a reprint of the pamphlet "F**k The System," which was all about dropping out, as in Leary's "Turn On, Tune In and Drop Out," it is about living without money, finding free items and ways to survive. I looked it up on amazon and found only one used copy available through a private seller. Would you believe he/she is asking $750.00 for it!!! Abbie said anyone who tries to make money off it is a communist, lol

Revolution? For the hell of it!.......2002-01-31

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........1996-07-18

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.

Conspiracy in the Streets: The Extraordinary Trial of the Chicago Eight

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There is humor, there is tragedy

Conspiracy in the Streets: The Extraordinary Trial of the Chicago Eight

Manufacturer: New Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Columbia Guide to America in the 1960s (Columbia Guides to American History and Cultures)
Tomorrow Never Knows: Rock and Psychedelics in the 1960s
Reassessing the Sixties: Debating the Political and Cultural Legacy
Bringing the War Home: The Weather Underground, the Red Army Faction, and Revolutionary Violence in the Sixties and Seventies
Revolution for the Hell of It: The Book That Earned Abbie Hoffman a 5 Year Prison Term at the Chicago Conspiracy Trial

ASIN: 1565848330

Book Description

On the stand with yippies, black panthers, and political activists at the conspiracy trial that defined the youth rebellion of the 1960s.

"Conspiracy? Hell, we couldn't agree on lunch."—Abbie Hoffman

Michael Moore mocks George Bush and Al Franken ridicules Rush Limbaugh, but the mixing of play and politics today is polite and respectful compared to the carnival of contempt known as the Chicago Eight trial.

Opening at the end of 1969, the trial brought Yippies, antiwar activists, and Black Panthers to face conspiracy charges arising from the massive protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The defendants openly lampooned the proceedings, with Abbie Hoffman blowing kisses to the jury and the defense bringing a Viet Cong flag into the courtroom. The judge ordered Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers bound and gagged for insisting on representing himself. And an array of celebrity witnesses appeared, including Timothy Leary, Norman Mailer, Arlo Guthrie, and Allen Ginsberg, who provoked the prosecution by chanting "Om" on the witness stand.

This book combines an abridged transcript of the trial with astute commentary by historian Jon Wiener. A foreword by defendant Tom Hayden examines the trial's relevance for protest today, and drawings by legendary cartoonist Jules Feiffer help re-create the electrifying atmosphere of the courtroom.

Customer Reviews:

There is humor, there is tragedy.......2007-01-19

I wasn't expecting to laugh when I started reading, but I laughed at so many points. Not only the defendants' humor is hilarious at times, the prosecution almost never ceases to be ridiculous making a funny scene at times, and truly disturbing at others.

Drawings are beautiful, and the cover itself sells the book I bet.

Where each of the eight defendents ended up later in their lives was most amazing. Those stories may suggest how different these people must have been in core, yet the 60s could meld all into what government claimed to be a conspiracy.

The Pullman Case: The Clash of Labor and Capital in Industrial America (Landmark Law Cases & American Society)

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Fantastic book

The Pullman Case: The Clash of Labor and Capital in Industrial America (Landmark Law Cases & American Society)
David Ray Papke
Manufacturer: University Press of Kansas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Labor & Industrial Relations | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Marbury v. Madison : The Origins and Legacy of Judicial Review
Slave Law in the American South: State V. Mann in History and Literature (Landmark Law Cases and American Society)
The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Legal History
Lochner v. New York: Economic Regulation on Trial
The Slaughterhouse Cases: Regulation, Reconstruction, And the Fourteenth Amendment (Landmark Law Cases and American Society)

ASIN: 0700609547

Book Description

When the American Railway Union went on strike against the Pullman Palace Car Company in 1894, it set into motion a chain of events whose repercussions are still felt today. The strike pitted America's largest industrial union against twenty-four railroads, paralyzed rail traffic in half the country, and in the end was broken up by federal troops and suppressed by the courts, with union leader Eugene Debs incarcerated. But behind the Pullman case lay a conflict of ideologies at a watershed time in our nation's history.

David Ray Papke reexamines the events and personalities surrounding the 1894 strike, related proceedings in the Chicago trial courts, and the 1895 Supreme Court decision, In re Debs, which set important standards for labor injunctions. He shows how the Court, by upholding Debs's contempt citation, dealt fatal blows to broad-based unionism in the nation's most important industry and to any hope for a more evenhanded form of judicial involvement in labor disputes--thus setting the stage for labor law in decades to come.

The Pullman case was a defining moment in the often violent confrontation between capital and labor. It matched wealthy industrialist George Pullman against Debs and gave a stage to Debs's fledgling attorney Clarence Darrow. Throughout the trial, capital and labor tried to convince the public of the justice of their cause: Debs decrying the company's treatment of workers and Pullman raising fears of radical unionists. Papke provides an analytically concise and highly readable account of these proceedings, offering insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the law at the peak of industrial capitalism, showcasing Debs's passionate commitment to workers' rights, and providing a window on America during a period of rapid industrialization and social transformation.

Papke shows that the law was far from neutral in defending corporate interests and suggests what the Pullman case, by raising questions about both the legitimacy of giant corporations and the revolutionary style of industrial unions, can teach us about law and legal institutions in our own time. His book captures the passions of industrial America and tells an important story at the intersection of legal and cultural history.

This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic book.......2004-09-07

The Pullman Case is a very well written account of the American Railway Union strike. Despite the seemingly dry material, the author manages to be concise and makes otherwise bland events quite entertaining. I highly recommend this book for gaining an appreciation of the historical underpinnings of the battle between labor and capital in America.

The barnyard epithet and other obscenities;: Notes on the Chicago conspiracy trial

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The barnyard epithet and other obscenities;: Notes on the Chicago conspiracy trial
J. Anthony Lukas
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B0006CUFRK

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THE BARNYARD EPITHET AND OTHER OBSCENITIES Notes on the Chicago Conspiracy Trial
J. Anthony Lukas
Manufacturer: Perennial Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: B000GX4BLU

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The Chicago Conspiracy Trial
John Schultz
Manufacturer: Da Capo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Birth of a Nation'hood: Gaze, Script, and Spectacle in the O. J. Simpson Case
Revolution for the Hell of It: The Book That Earned Abbie Hoffman a 5 Year Prison Term at the Chicago Conspiracy Trial
Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial And America's Continuing Debate over Science And Religion
Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8
Red Scared!: The Commie Menace in Propaganda and Popular Culture

ASIN: 0306805138

Book Description

In September, 1969, as the U.S. commitment to the Vietnam War intensified, the Chicago Conspiracy Trial began. Eight men (including Tom Hayden, Bobby Seale, Dave Dellinger, Rennie Davis, Abbie Hoffman, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and Jerry Rubin) were charged with "conspiracy," and with individually crossing state lines and making speeches with intent to "incite, organize, promote, and encourage" antiwar riots in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Pitted against them was Judge Julius Jennings Hoffman, an aged yet lively judge who used arbitrary methods to sway the jury to the side of the prosecution, aided by the full power of the U.S. Justice Department. Over the next five months the trial commanded the attention of a divided nation. Bobby Seale was held bound and gagged in the courtroom, and federal marshals fought with spectators and defendants. Finally, on February 18, 1970, the jury found five of the Chicago Seven (as they had been known since the judge severed Bobby Seale from the case) guilty. Campuses across the country burst into riots.

The Chicago Conspiracy Trial is a dramatic explication of that trial as well as the events surrounding it. The author, John Schultz, witnessed the trial, and was the only investigator to obtain the story of how Judge Hoffman successfully intimidated the jury. Schultz shows how the trial was a massive attempt to reshape the political turmoil of the time: the trial's impact, measured in terms of fear and intimidation, can still be felt today. This vivid, engrossing drama will help ensure that the trial will neither be forgotten nor repeated.

The Chicago Conspiracy Trial is a revised and updated version of John Schultz's original reportage and investigative work, Motion Will Be Denied. The story develops the trial strategies of prosecution and defense and what happened in the actual drama of the courtroom, with high conflict chapters devoted to Bobby Seale's Sixth Amendment struggle that led to his severance from the case, the cross examination of "the clown prince of the left" Abbie Hoffman, the intimidation of the jurors, the contempt issues, and the protest that erupted in the courtroom with the jailing of defendant David Dellinger, among others.

John Schultz was present for the trial proceedings from beginning to end. There is an extensive Afterword by the author dealing with the appeals and the important legal, constitutional, and political aspects of this trial of the century. The investigative work includes startling interviews with jurors, FBI reports obtained through Freedom of Information requests, and interviews with defendants, Judge Hoffman's law clerk, constitutional law professors Jon Waltz, Harry Kalven, and Arthur Kinoy (also head of the defense on appeal), and attorneys on both sides, including William Kunstier, Leonard Weinglass, Morton Stavis, Thomas Sullivan, and prosecutor on appeals Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Cole.

Book Description

Reality is stranger than fiction when eight 1960's radicals refuse to behave in Judge Julius Hoffman's courtroom. Based on actual trial transcripts, this play centers on events following the protests and riots during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago.

Customer Reviews:

Great blend of drama and reality........2000-04-28

Peter Goodchild's take on the events following the upheaval at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago masterfully mixes real life interviews with dramatic re-enactments from the courtroom. The actors portray the 60's "hippies" with passion and reverence. The interviewing of historians and participants provides intriguing details into the events. Truly a great blend of drama and reality.

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