Not a moment too soon does Process Media release a new edition of the radical 1970s classic manual and commentary Guitar Army by former White Panther head honcho and current counter-culture revolutionary John Sinclair. The book collects many of his columns for underground newspapers in the 1960s, some of his position papers and philosophy screeds for the White Panther and Rainbow People’s Party, and a dose of his writings during his jail sentence in the early 1970s. The writing deals with the philosophical and practical concerns of constructing an alternative way of living in a country where the government and “squares” are actively violent or merely unenlightened to Sinclair and company’s ideals.

The writing and language of the book evokes a time when rock ’n’ roll and cannabis were the ingredients for the revolution, and in that way, Guitar Army has a similar feeling to Hunter Thompson and Lester Bangs’ writing. And even though the style is dated, the ideas about community organizing remain valid.

Sinclair is unflinching in his critique of his and his co-conspirators’ successes and failure. Given that this book continues to be a manual for those trying to live at odds with the government (which has become much scarier and destructive than the “death cult” or “low energy” fascists that Sinclair was fighting against), this critique is immensely valuable so that such mistakes are not repeated.