The novel that I will be talking about, The Anarchist Cookbook, was published in 1971 and was written by William Powell. The counterculture era was a time when individuals had beliefs, value, and norms that differentiated from the established social norm. This era was at its peak during the Vietnam War which is when William Powell wrote this novel. William Powell wrote The Anarchist Cookbook in objection of the United States being involved in the Vietnam War. However, after converting to Anglicanism in 1976, Powell tried to stop his novel from spreading, but since the publisher owned the copyright, the spreading of the novel did not stop. It was not until 1991 that the company was bought that the distribution of The Anarchist Cookbook concluded.
The novel begins with a forward where Powell states his purpose for writing the novel. He states that he believes that the United States is turning towards communism and wanted people to go against the idea of this and emphasized that idea of “bringing America back to where she was two hundred years ago” (27). However, Powell did state that the novel “is not written for the members of fringe political groups, such as The Weathermen, or the Minutemen” and calls them “radical groups” (27).
Then Powell begins the introduction. In the introduction, he states how the “young people are not blind idealists. They are perhaps the most rational and practical generation this country has ever seen” (29). What I think is interesting is that people say now how much an impact the younger generation has on the world. Powell goes onto how anarchy has been revived in different ways due to what is going on in the country. At the end of the introduction, Powell states that there are topics written in the book that are “illegal and constitutes a threat” and that “almost all the recipes are dangerous” (30).
After being published, The Anarchist Cookbook was reviewed multiple times for legal reasons. The book was looked at by the Department of Justice, the FBI, the White House, Richard Nixon’s lawyers, and the FBI Director. However, due to spreading through media, the FBI could not be monitored and also stated that it was protected under the First Amendment.