Square Dancing in the Ice Age

Leftist activist Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989) writes with surprising clarity and wit in this collection penned during his days on the run during the mid-late 1970's. Hoffman describes life as a fugitive (via drug charges) and provides his take on the state of U.S. society during those years - though Hoffman was more tied to the 1960's. Some of these written pieces are better than others; I enjoyed his hilarious masquerading as Playboy's restaurant critic in Paris, and his look at Pat Robertson's emerging CBN broadcasting network He also offers support for the environment, mocks the FBI (which was searching for him), critiques the Carter Administration, etc. There are some laughs here, plus irreverence, foolishness, and Hoffman's slightly offbeat view. Hoffman was a spotlight grabber, but his bad manners in the highly-questionable Chicago Seven trial (he often insulted the judge) and those of his codefendants and attorneys earned convictions for contempt of court, and did little for the anti-Vietnam cause. Still, rebels, progressives, and those that enjoy gonzo journalism should like both this book and those of Hunter S. Thompson.

I picked up this book in 10th grade and everyone that saw me read it thought that I had an interest in Square Dancing. When I said that he was talking about the disappointment he felt in the Carter administration, they thought that I was talking about the Hostage Crisis which was just a small part of it.Even though it is written in the 70s, this is a quintessential book for anyone obsessed with 60s counterculture. Abbie Hoffman living on the run writes everything from the perspective of the Yippie extraordinaire. From posing as a restaurant critic to mocking Pat Robertson to expressing disappointment in the first liberal Democratic President since Johnson, Abbie Hoffman's perspective is one of dissatisfaction coupled with love of America. He will be missed.What particularly impressed me with this book was the anti-myth stance. Hoffman knows that he created the myths of the 60s hippie more than anyone else, but he downplays the "voice of a generation" stance. When he reviews a movie with an Abbie Hoffman inspired character, he is fighting for his own personal honor. There's also a decidely refreshing anti-PC strain running through the book. This man fights for the environment, fights for the dignity of the human and is fiercely anti-war, but he doesn't dismiss his critics as idiots. He also refrains from getting into academic polemics that have killed more than one student organization that sets out to do something decent and ends up fighting. When I read The Strawberry Alarm Clock I was utterly turned off by the pompous main character and his "everyone hates us so we hate everyone" stance. Sadly the SAC narrator is the majority and people like Abbie Hoffman are the minority.Throughout this book there is a strong moral stance, maybe not on the sexual,monetary or drug front but on the shared humanity. He speaks for compassion, the environment and the human even at his most foolish. The essay where he mocks Pat Robertson there is a gentleness to the mockery, as if Pat Robertson doesn't know what a mockery he is making of himself.Great essays include the title one about the Carter administration, the essay about the 700 Club, and the last one concerning building an environmental movement in upstate New York. Other essays are dated, but for the most part this is. . . an outstanding. . . book. Abbie Hoffman will be missed.