Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989) was an American activist and revolutionary political organizer in the civil rights and anti-war movements who co-founded the Youth International Party (“Yippies”). He was arrested and tried for his role in protests that were confronted violently by police during the 1968 Democratic National Convention and began to write Steal This Book in jail while awaiting what became known as the Trial of the Chicago Seven. Hoffman continued his activism through the 1980’s and remains an icon of countercultural movements today.