According to the BBC, a teenager has been arrested for the crime of possession of “The Anarchist’s Cookbook”, and having attempted to obtain some of the chemicals required to make some of it’s recipes. While the unlicensed manufacture and use of explosives has probably been illegal for a very long time, the criminalization of possession of this book seems paradoxical:
For starters, the book is still on sale on Amazon.co.uk and has been sold legally in the UK for more than 30 years. It can be downloaded for free. (If you clicked on that link then you just came into posession of this allegedly terrorist book – please make an appropriate confession at your local police station).
I’m not a fan of this book: It’s more suited to somebody wishing to commit suicide than instigate a bloody Jihad. If you really want to blow things up you would be much better off consulting the US Army’s improvised munitions handbook. This excellent and well-researched book provides all the relevant formulations and ingredients for a wide range of high-explosives, plus handy safety tips to ensure that your ‘package’ gets ‘delivered’ to the right revolutionary or diplomat.
The Anarchist’s Cookbook is amateur stuff by comparison.
