A Truly Banned Book

To many young and rebellious teenagers, The Anarchist Cookbook would be your first memorable exposure to counter-culture. It was written by William Powell in response to the US involvement in Vietnam War. The central idea was that through violence the “common man” can bring political change. The book contains instructions for the manufacture of explosives, acids, telecommunications modifications and hacking, growing and production of drugs amongst other things that will cause bodily harm. The author has long since renounced his views that led to the publication of his work. William Powell recently wrote: 

“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 …Unfortunately, the book continues to be in print and with the advent of the Internet several websites dealing with it have emerged… I consider it to be a misguided and potentially dangerous publication which should be taken out of print.”

There have been many rumors spread on the ownership of this book, including being automatically updated to probable terrorist list. Though it is legal to possess the literature it can be used against you as evidence if you were to be arrested on charges of terrorism, menacing or reckless endangerment. A most recent case was that of Ian Davison. In 2010, Davison and his son were imprisoned under anti-terrorism laws for manufacturing ricin (a toxin) and their possession of the Anarchist Cookbook was noted by the authorities. The Anarchist Cookbook is banned in many state-run libraries in the United States though many librarians fight that decision to this day.