OUTLAWS OF AMERIKA: COMMUNIQUES FROM THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND
New York: Liberated Guardian, 1971. Item #42888
1st edition. Original color illustrated paper wrappers, 8vo 48 pages. 20 cm. Includes many photos.
Heavily illustrated booklet issued to celebrate the 1st anniversary of the Weather Underground (“The Weathermen”), the left-wing militant organization which split off from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Both SDS and the Weathermen were heavily Jewish (see, for example, jewishcurrents.org/march-6-the-weathermen).
The Weathermen took their name from Bob Dylan’s line, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”
The booklet is loaded with cartoons, photos, and illustrations showing the group's activities, including a bombing by the "Proud Eagle Tribe, a group of revolutionary women" in Boston and another in New York in support of Puerto Rican liberation. It includes texts of communiques sent by the Weather Underground to the press in 1970 and 1971 as well as clippings from other publications, such as The Liberated Guardian, The Berkeley Tribe, and Yippie-aligned underground press.
These include dispatches and documents dated 1970 to May 1971, such as, "Seattle," "Isla Vista," "Marin County," "Long Island City," and "Boston." Except for communiqes no. 4 (an open letter from Timothy Leary after his Weather Underground-assisted escape from prison, introduced by Bernardine Dohrn) and no. 8 (authored as indicated by Dohrn), all communiques were issued to explain the purpose of specific Weather Underground bombings. The work presents the Weather Underground's actions in their own words, covering topics such as bombings, marches, and protests.
"We publish this pamphlet in the hope that reading the communiques together will remind the overground of its responsibilities both to the underground in this country and to the world revolution" (page 1).
Contents:
- Communique no. 1. Declaration of war
- Communique no. 2. ["Tonight...We Blew Up the N.Y.C. Police Headquarters"]
- Communique no. 3. Don't look for us, dog; we'll find you first
- Communique no. 4. Rosemary and Tim are free and high!
- Communique no. 5. Fall offensive : guard your children, guard your doors
- Communique no. 6. Message to brother Dan
- Communique no. 7. ["....We want to express ourselves to the movement...as tribes at council]
- Communique no. 8. We attacked the Capitol
- Communique no. 9. Dear Mrs. Bacon.
"This pamphlet was prepared by the Liberated Guardian Collective and other friends of the Weather Underground. Text of most of the communiques from documents sent to The Liberated guardian, others from the YIPPIES, and The Berkeley tribe and other papers." SUBJECT(S): Radicalism -- United States. Terrorism -- Radicalisme -- E´tats-Unis. Terrorisme. OCLC: 11127801. OCLC lists 18 copies worldwide. Cover split at bottom of spine, paper toning, cover less so, Good Condition. (AMR-68-8-MMVX-'wwb).
Price: $250.00