# Anarchist's Cookbook **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 31, 2000, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222 "2000-01-31T12:26:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/1 "2000-01-31T12:26:00Z")
Whats the deal here ? I am aware or some of the contents in this book. But there seems to be some myth surrounding it. For example, I have been told “do not put this in your search engine or inquire on Amazon because the Feds will tag you as a possible threat”. Even strange conspiracy babbling aside, surely this forbidden book has some sort of interesting past. Anyone know about it ? What about authors ? Are there many or only one, and if just one is he being held in a prison ?(Logically he should be the “master subversive”.) I would look around on the web, but the last thing I want is to pop up on the “list”. (Haha.) Oh and rest assured I am a law abiding, sane, and dossile American - and no I don’t work for the post office or carry around a copy of “Catcher in the Rye”. Thanks all. * * * “Solos Dios basta” . . . but a little pizza won’t hurt. ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/2 "2000-01-31T12:52:00Z")
Don’t worry folks, he’s being taken care of right now. ## Fnord. Jeremy… Nobody ever calls me after they’ve done something smart. ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/3 "2000-01-31T13:05:00Z")
I got the back door. You guys go in the front. * * * The previous post was brought to you smiley-fee by Yer pal, ChiefScott ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/4 "2000-01-31T14:59:00Z")
**IT’S AN AMBUSH, GABE!** Quick, get a deck of cards. I’ll e-mail you the recipe for the “Hearts and Diamonds Bomb.” That should hold 'em off. 🙂 * * * –It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/5 "2000-01-31T15:21:00Z")
Try a search for “Paladin Press” – I _think_ that’s the correct spelling of Paladin. They specialize in such books. There are also several newer editions of the AC, too. * * * "You’ll never get as much out of being right as you will from finding out why you were wrong . . . " _The Papoon Principles_ Ch. 1. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/6 "2000-01-31T15:32:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Gabriel: > I am a law abiding, sane, and dossile American. On the bright side, your “dossility” might earn you some votes in the “Which poster would you most like to date” thread. I very much doubt that the FBI has the knowledge and/or the will to track down buyers of the “Anarchist cookbook” on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). The book is so well-known that it’s like a humorous classic. I myself purchased it in a bookstore in Haight Ashbury on a trip to San Francisco. I think they’re more worried about the tracts expounding on the black helicopters. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/7 "2000-01-31T16:51:00Z")
I owned that book & I sold it to a local bookstore. A lot of the recipes aren’t accurate, do not try them unless you got some major guts & lot s of medical insurance. You can download it free from the net, just search for it, its out there on many web sites for download free. * * * “I have gathered a posie of other men’s flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is mine own.” ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/8 "2000-01-31T17:30:00Z")
Never knew there was an actual printed copy. I thought it was just an online thing. It would be interesting to see if my local library has a printed copy. ---
**Author:** ![Hunsecker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d78d45/32.png) [@Hunsecker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunsecker)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/9 "2000-01-31T17:34:00Z")
From what I’ve heard about it, **handy** is right, the recipies can be pretty dangerous. Same goes with _The Poor Man’s James Bond_ I think. Anyway, you might want to check out Loompanics, they publish all kinds of stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![neuro-trash\_grrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ab097/32.png) [@neuro-trash\_grrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neuro-trash_grrrl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/10 "2000-01-31T17:36:00Z")
I’ve seen copies at a local bookstore. I’d have bought one, but they were expensive. But that’s okay, because I’ve heard that it’s a fake. I don’t have any evidence either way, but what I’m told is that all of the recipes are flawed or sabotaged in some way. * * * An infinite number of rednecks in an infinite number of pickup trucks shooting an infinite number of shotguns at an infinite number of road signs will eventually produce all the world’s great works of literature in Braille. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/11 "2000-01-31T17:47:00Z")
Years and years ago I had a copy. IIRC, it was full of recepies for bombs and drugs. I actually wish I hadn’t lost it because it was entertaining. I never tried any of the recepies, so I can’t tell you if they work. * * * “I should not take bribes and Minister Bal Bahadur KC should not do so either. But if clerks take a bribe of Rs 50-60 after a hard day’s work, it is not an issue.” ----Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Current Prime Minister of Nepal ---
**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2000, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/12 "2000-02-01T06:31:00Z")
Pssst, “Henley’s Formulas”, check out the section on explosives recipes. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2000, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/13 "2000-02-01T06:40:00Z")
## The Straight Dope and _The Chicago Reader_ does not encourage or condone the use of everyday ingredients in concocting explosive devices whereby human/animal fingers, hands, arms or other bodily appendages and/or sense organs may be shredded, mangled, vaporized or otherwise destroyed by violent oxidation and/or extremely rapid expansion of metallic and gaseous elements accompanied by intense release of radiation in both the visible and invisible portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Nickrz GQ Mod For The Straight Dope Ps. I know none of our Gentle Readers would ever think of posting links to recipes or instructions for constructing such items. Right? [Note: This message has been edited by Nickrz] ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/14 "2000-01-31T19:33:00Z")
- - - I have been told by a pal in the chem. profession that of what he’s seen, the recipes in these books _looks_ about right. You have to be more than a little daring to make this stuff though (especially without using real, actual lab-grade equipment); high explosives mixed wrong have a nasty habit of detonating spontaneously. Net info is inherently unreliable; buy one of the books if you really wanna know (-the _least_ likely way to blow yerself up-). - MC ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/15 "2000-01-31T19:48:00Z")
I’ve worked in a couple of public libraries that carried the book. It’s usually kept in a back room and you have to leave ID for it. The Los Angeles Public Library had a bunch of copies of the 1989 edition. Most are lost or stolen however. ---
**Author:** ![Konrad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f475e1/32.png) [@Konrad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Konrad)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/16 "2000-01-31T19:56:00Z")
As far as I know the author had no problems from the law. (not because of the anarchist’s cookbook at least) However, he has written much more interesting things. You can check out some of his essays at [http://www.cultdeadcow.com](http://www.cultdeadcow.com) under the textfiles section. I think his alias is deth vegetable. ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2000, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/17 "2000-01-31T20:02:00Z")
I’ve seen it in a local bookstore, and a friend of mine had a copy. He even tried some of the more harmless ones. (“Harmless” being a relative term.) It’s not a gag. It does claim that they will all work, though some may be more unreliable than others. Personally, I’m not brave enough to try any of them myself. Or maybe I’m too smart. As far as the intelligence community monitoring for such things, I feel that it’s a distinct possibility. They do have equipment to scan phone calls to listen for certain words and phrases spoken in phone calls. Unless you’re using a good encryption, it’s not too far-fetched to think they have the technology to scan for the same thing on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2000, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/18 "2000-02-01T00:16:00Z")
My college library at UCSD kept a copy in the special collections. I tried many of the recipes in the book. They work. That was the thing to do when you turned 20. Actually tried the ‘second most powerful non-nuclear explosive’ but chickened out on lighting it. Youll notice it was used in the Oklahoma thing. sigh. Thus I won’t even mention what it was. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2000, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/19 "2000-02-01T01:11:00Z")
Actually, about any good-sized public library will have books on explosives to explain what type of explosive was used in Oklahoma City. It wasn’t a new recipe. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2000, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222/20 "2000-02-01T05:22:00Z")
Thanks to all who posted about this. I wasn’t really looking for “recipes” as much as the history of the volume. Why was it written and how did it come to the attention of the government ? That kind of stuff. Some very interesting links though. BTW I saw “Enemy of the State” for the second time today . . . that did it ! I am REALLY paranoid now. (joke.) Makes you wonder though . . . . * * * “Solos Dios basta” . . . but a little pizza won’t hurt. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anarchists-cookbook/7222.md?page=2)