! Guerilla Handboek !
Jan F van Opstal
1972
! Guerilla Handboek !
Fullscreen
PAUSE
00:00
This booklet was published by Jan F. van Opstal, a Dutch artist and radical counter-cultural activist about whom little information is available, with the support of the Philosophical Circle of Ghent University. Its contents were ...
Read more
! Guerilla Handboek !
Jan F van Opstal
1972
Ghent: White Euro Press
77 pages
29.5 × 21 cm
Signed and stamped "Ministère de la Justice"

This booklet was published by Jan F. van Opstal, a Dutch artist and radical counter-cultural activist about whom little information is available, with the support of the Philosophical Circle of Ghent University. Its contents were primarily derived from The Anarchist Cookbook, first published in 1971, a controversial manual containing instructions for explosives, rudimentary telecommunications and phreaking devices, and other forms of weaponry. Its author, William Powell, wrote the book amid the anti-Vietnam War movement of the early 1970s, but later expressed regret over having produced what became a notorious vademecum of clandestine warfare. Nevertheless, the book endured as a seminal manual of underground and guerrilla struggle.


 


Van Opstal’s variation on Powell’s anarchist manual, falsely marked with the stamp of the “Ministère de la Justice”, was designed to resemble a raw, clandestine handbook. Its contents, however, merge practical instructions with political philosophy, activist concepts, and gestures of artistic rebellion.


 


This shorter reworking of Powell’s anarchist manual is also considerably milder. It opens with a Foreword stressing that “anarchism is essentially nonviolent”, the importance of directing actions against institutions rather than individuals, and, among other references, a quotation attributed to Malcolm X: “It is a criminal act not to teach people how to defend themselves when they are constantly exposed to brutality.”


 


In the disclaimer, Van Opstal further states that the book is by no means intended for children or the mentally disabled. In keeping with this warning, METABOOKS will exceptionally present the accompanying video at fast-forward speed.

Ghent: White Euro Press
77 pages
29.5 × 21 cm
Signed and stamped "Ministère de la Justice"

This booklet was published by Jan F. van Opstal, a Dutch artist and radical counter-cultural activist about whom little information is available, with the support of the Philosophical Circle of Ghent University. Its contents were primarily derived from The Anarchist Cookbook, first published in 1971, a controversial manual containing instructions for explosives, rudimentary telecommunications and phreaking devices, and other forms of weaponry. Its author, William Powell, wrote the book amid the anti-Vietnam War movement of the early 1970s, but later expressed regret over having produced what became a notorious vademecum of clandestine warfare. Nevertheless, the book endured as a seminal manual of underground and guerrilla struggle.

 

Van Opstal’s variation on Powell’s anarchist manual, falsely marked with the stamp of the “Ministère de la Justice”, was designed to resemble a raw, clandestine handbook. Its contents, however, merge practical instructions with political philosophy, activist concepts, and gestures of artistic rebellion.

 

This shorter reworking of Powell’s anarchist manual is also considerably milder. It opens with a Foreword stressing that “anarchism is essentially nonviolent”, the importance of directing actions against institutions rather than individuals, and, among other references, a quotation attributed to Malcolm X: “It is a criminal act not to teach people how to defend themselves when they are constantly exposed to brutality.”

 

In the disclaimer, Van Opstal further states that the book is by no means intended for children or the mentally disabled. In keeping with this warning, METABOOKS will exceptionally present the accompanying video at fast-forward speed.

DESCRIPTION

This booklet was published by Jan F. van Opstal, a Dutch artist and radical counter-cultural activist about whom little information is available, with the support of the Philosophical Circle of Ghent University. Its contents were primarily derived from The Anarchist Cookbook, first published in 1971, a controversial manual containing instructions for explosives, rudimentary telecommunications and phreaking devices, and other forms of weaponry. Its author, William Powell, wrote the book amid the anti-Vietnam War movement of the early 1970s, but later expressed regret over having produced what became a notorious vademecum of clandestine warfare. Nevertheless, the book endured as a seminal manual of underground and guerrilla struggle.

 

Van Opstal’s variation on Powell’s anarchist manual, falsely marked with the stamp of the “Ministère de la Justice”, was designed to resemble a raw, clandestine handbook. Its contents, however, merge practical instructions with political philosophy, activist concepts, and gestures of artistic rebellion.

 

This shorter reworking of Powell’s anarchist manual is also considerably milder. It opens with a Foreword stressing that “anarchism is essentially nonviolent”, the importance of directing actions against institutions rather than individuals, and, among other references, a quotation attributed to Malcolm X: “It is a criminal act not to teach people how to defend themselves when they are constantly exposed to brutality.”

 

In the disclaimer, Van Opstal further states that the book is by no means intended for children or the mentally disabled. In keeping with this warning, METABOOKS will exceptionally present the accompanying video at fast-forward speed.

Ghent: White Euro Press
77 pages
29.5 × 21 cm
Signed and stamped "Ministère de la Justice"

This booklet was published by Jan F. van Opstal, a Dutch artist and radical counter-cultural activist about whom little information is available, with the support of the Philosophical Circle of Ghent University. Its contents were primarily derived from The Anarchist Cookbook, first published in 1971, a controversial manual containing instructions for explosives, rudimentary telecommunications and phreaking devices, and other forms of weaponry. Its author, William Powell, wrote the book amid the anti-Vietnam War movement of the early 1970s, but later expressed regret over having produced what became a notorious vademecum of clandestine warfare. Nevertheless, the book endured as a seminal manual of underground and guerrilla struggle.

 

Van Opstal’s variation on Powell’s anarchist manual, falsely marked with the stamp of the “Ministère de la Justice”, was designed to resemble a raw, clandestine handbook. Its contents, however, merge practical instructions with political philosophy, activist concepts, and gestures of artistic rebellion.

 

This shorter reworking of Powell’s anarchist manual is also considerably milder. It opens with a Foreword stressing that “anarchism is essentially nonviolent”, the importance of directing actions against institutions rather than individuals, and, among other references, a quotation attributed to Malcolm X: “It is a criminal act not to teach people how to defend themselves when they are constantly exposed to brutality.”

 

In the disclaimer, Van Opstal further states that the book is by no means intended for children or the mentally disabled. In keeping with this warning, METABOOKS will exceptionally present the accompanying video at fast-forward speed.

MORE BOOKS

This booklet was published by Jan F. van Opstal, a Dutch artist and radical counter-cultural activist about whom little information is available, with the support of the Philosophical Circle of Ghent University. Its contents were primarily derived from The Anarchist Cookbook, first published in 1971, a controversial manual containing instructions for explosives, rudimentary telecommunications and phreaking devices, and other forms of weaponry. Its author, William Powell, wrote the book amid the anti-Vietnam War movement of the early 1970s, but later expressed regret over having produced what became a notorious vademecum of clandestine warfare. Nevertheless, the book endured as a seminal manual of underground and guerrilla struggle.

 

Van Opstal’s variation on Powell’s anarchist manual, falsely marked with the stamp of the “Ministère de la Justice”, was designed to resemble a raw, clandestine handbook. Its contents, however, merge practical instructions with political philosophy, activist concepts, and gestures of artistic rebellion.

 

This shorter reworking of Powell’s anarchist manual is also considerably milder. It opens with a Foreword stressing that “anarchism is essentially nonviolent”, the importance of directing actions against institutions rather than individuals, and, among other references, a quotation attributed to Malcolm X: “It is a criminal act not to teach people how to defend themselves when they are constantly exposed to brutality.”

 

In the disclaimer, Van Opstal further states that the book is by no means intended for children or the mentally disabled. In keeping with this warning, METABOOKS will exceptionally present the accompanying video at fast-forward speed.

MORE BOOKS