Out of all the readings we have done in this class so far, The
Anarchist Cookbook has surprised me the most. The past readings contain
vulgar content, radical opinions, controversial religious beliefs that make the
text difficult to read and analyze in a professional manner. However, this book
didn’t seem to push the author’s political agenda. It was simply an
unconventional cookbook.
This cookbook was obviously banned due to the recipes inside. It
demonstrated how to grow different drugs, make bombs, record phone
conversations, and so much more. Even though many of the recipes in this book
are illegal, it was still written in a sophisticated manner. The book barely
touched on the author’s view points, and instead just listed the various
recipes. The author’s bluntness was quite surprising. He would casually mention
legal ways to get high as well as illegal ways. He seemed to care about the
reader’s health and well-being even when most of the recipes in this cookbook
are illegal. This reminds me of some of the SexEd classes I’ve had to go to.
They don’t tell you to not have sex. Instead, they teach you how to be safe
while doing it. Both scenarios admit that humans are curious and will do what
they want; however, they try to keep people from making stupid mistakes.
The author’s writing style was quite amusing to me. Despite the illegal
content in this book, I was intrigued on how much of the information is still
valid. I will not conduct experiments in my dorm because most of these recipes
are illegal; however, I might do more research into these recipes to find out more
about these recipes.