In this sympathetic history of a maligned decade, Marty Jezer, a fellow antiwar activist, details Abbie Hoffman's humor, manic energy, depressive spells, political skills, & above all, his incurable & still contagious optimism. He presents a thoughtful, solidly researched biography of the wildly creative & iconoclastic Yippie, portraying Hoffman as a fresh force in American political culture. Jezer surveys in detail the politics, philosophies, & struggles of the antiwar movement. ''A solid account of the life of an inventive, destructive luftmensch, & a valuable cautionary tale for both the left & right.'' B&W photos.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This critical, comprehensive biography of the late radical Abbie Hoffman surveys in detail the politics, philosophies and struggles of the antiwar movement and, to a lesser extent, civil rights, feminism and environmentalism. Even though Jezer ( The Dark Ages: Life in the United States, 1945-1960 ) clearly respects Hoffman's ability to mobilize dissenters, he does not shirk from challenging Hoffman's attention-getting tactics, often perceived as clownish or macho. Jezer contends that the Jewish Hoffman's upbringing in conservative, largely non-Jewish, working-class Worcester, Mass., taught him to accept people of varied backgrounds and contributed to his energetic support of civil rights. His youth also led him to adopt a "tough hood" stance that he never abandoned, and that did not allow him to fully practice nonviolence. Hoffman's formative education in radicalism at Brandeis and Berkeley, his support of antiwar political candidates and his founding of the politicized Yippie movement on Manhattan's Lower East Side are discussed. Anecdotal accounts of demonstrations are here in abundance; much attention is given to "guerrilla theater," police brutality and Hoffman's problems with the law on a cocaine-dealing charge. Little is made of his life outside the political arena, but the manic depression that led him to commit suicide in 1989, at age 53, is shown to have been an ever-present, worsening condition. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Do not be misled by the fact that this book was published by a university press. Jezer's biography offers a fascinating and eminently readable study of one of the most controversial and emblematic symbols of the 1960s. Jezer, himself a veteran of pacifist movements against the Vietnam War, traces Hoffman's evolution from Brandeis beatnik to Yippie leader and spokesperson for the Woodstock nation. As Jezer shows, Hoffman remained active around environmental and social justice issues during the narcissistic 1970s and the Reaganite 1980s. This warts-and-all portrait of a unique rabble-rouser is surprisingly witty, absorbing, and even significant. Highly recommended for all collections.
- Kent Worcester, Social Science Research Council, New York
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Kent Worcester, Social Science Research Council, New York
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Steal This Rebel,
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This review is from: Abbie Hoffman: American Rebel (Hardcover)
The book's great. A complete account of the life and times of one of the 1960's New Left's major characters.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The Yippie who threw away money at the stock exchange, attempted to levitate the Pentagon, provoked mayors and judges, and helped to bring down a powerful president invented himself as a public personality "out of left-wing literature, sperm, licorice and a little chicken fat"-or so he gloated. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
winter navigation, antiwar coalition, hip community, bail fund, young hippies, conspiracy trial, hippie community, antiwar movement, guerrilla theater, free store Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Save the River, East Village, Abbie Hoffman, United States, Jerry Rubin, Judge Hoffman, Lincoln Park, Barry Freed, San Francisco, Thousand Islands, Father Gilgun, Dave Dellinger, Grant Park, Allen Ginsberg, Mayor Daley, Bucks County, John Hoffman, Lower East Side, New Left, Steal This Book, Tom Hayden, Weather Underground, Anita Hoffman, Hubert Humphrey New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The Yippie who threw away money at the stock exchange, attempted to levitate the Pentagon, provoked mayors and judges, and helped to bring down a powerful president invented himself as a public personality "out of left-wing literature, sperm, licorice and a little chicken fat"-or so he gloated. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
winter navigation, antiwar coalition, hip community, bail fund, young hippies, conspiracy trial, hippie community, antiwar movement, guerrilla theater, free store Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Save the River, East Village, Abbie Hoffman, United States, Jerry Rubin, Judge Hoffman, Lincoln Park, Barry Freed, San Francisco, Thousand Islands, Father Gilgun, Dave Dellinger, Grant Park, Allen Ginsberg, Mayor Daley, Bucks County, John Hoffman, Lower East Side, New Left, Steal This Book, Tom Hayden, Weather Underground, Anita Hoffman, Hubert Humphrey New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 52
books:
See all 52 books this book cites
12
books
cite this book:
See all 12 books citing this book
- Revolution for the Hell of It: The Book That Earned Abbie Hoffman a 5 Year Prison Term at the Chicago Conspiracy Trial by Abbie Hoffman on 6 pages
- The Great Lakes (A First book) by James P Barry on 4 pages
- Woodstock Nation by Abbie Hoffman on 4 pages
- White Negro by Norman Mailer on page 13, page 14, and Back Matter
- Wedding Within the War by Michael Rossman in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
See all 52 books this book cites
- David Dellinger: The Life and Times of a Nonviolent Revolutionary by Andrew Hunt on 4 pages
- Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life (Problems in American History) by Robert Buzzanco in Back Matter
- Grasping for the Wind by John W. Whitehead in Back Matter
- Hair: Public, Political, Extremely Personal by Diane Simon in Back Matter
- Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination by Rachel Adams in Back Matter
See all 12 books citing this book
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