Underworld Amusements – Nine-Banded Books

Outlaw History

NBBDev — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 19:27:20 +0000

4.25 x 7 | 292 pages | Softcover

Best known as an underground satirist (Lucifer’s Lexicon) and an irreverent critic of bien-pensant libertarianism (The Myth of Natural Rights), L.A. Rollins [1948–2015] was also an unruly exponent of historical revisionism who courted reprisal for his skeptical interrogations of canonical World War II and Holocaust historiography. Drawn from a variety of marginal sources dating from the mid-1980s, the essays and book reviews in Outlaw History provide contemporary readers with a time-capsule showcase of Rollins’ scathing and scrupulous approach to dissident history—both as a nominal practitioner of revisionism and, inevitably, as a skeptic of revisionist dogma. If these texts are as “problematic” now as when they were written, they also offer insight into a mode of unfettered freethinking that has since been expunged from intellectual discourse. To invoke a popular expression, L.A. Rollins “went there.” And he didn’t care. Outlaw History is the third volume in the “The Portable L.A. Rollins” pocket paperback series co-published by Nine-Banded Books and Underworld Amusements. It features an introduction by the erudite revisionist and conspiracy researcher Michael A. Hoffman II and a prolegomenon by Chip Smith of Nine-Banded Books.

This Ugly Civilization

NBBDev — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 20:43:57 +0000

Softcover | 6 x 9 | 456 pages Nine-Banded Books comment: This is the sort of book I might once have scoffed at, probably without cracking the spine. Shame on me. At once a localist manifesto and a paean to a kind of compassionate and undeceived individualism that is now scarcely articulated, Ralph Borsodi’s This Ugly Civilization advances a radical yet immanently pragmatic critique of machine-tending industrialization and, by contemporary extension, the residual discontents of our post-industrial work ethic. Against the cult of factory labor and production, Borsodi presents and elegant case not for primitivism or revolutionary upheaval, but for a flight to communal self-sufficiency and decentralized artisanal trade. While the cultural references and data points may be a bit dated (though often fascinating for precisely this reason), Borsodi’s message remains resonant as an attack on forces that add to life’s misery, and as a call for the realization of genuine human dignity and flourishing. From the publisher: There are three basic themes in Ralph Borsodi’s This Ugly Civilization: a critique of modern industrial civilization, achieving personal economic independence, and maximizing individual potential. Borsodi advocates a lifestyle of self-reliance and decentralized power, and outlines how it can be realized either by one man or by all. The logical steps are given for moving beyond a “victory garden” so that each of us may cultivate a human-scale existence compatible with nature and the pursuit of the good life. Received with great interest upon release in 1929, This Ugly Civilization offered a course of action for those who were soon facing the Great Depression. The book again found an audience during the rationing and instability of World War II. This Ugly Civilization and Borsodi’s subsequent Flight from the City (1933) became “bibles” to many in the successive “back-to-the-land” movements that occur every generation. His ideas gained further momentum among young people looking for answers in the 1960s and 70s. The indefatigable Mildred Loomis, the greatest advocate of Borsodi’s work, even garnered the nickname “grandmother of the counterculture.” Within another decade, the punk-inspired DIY movement would rail against centralizing authority and encourage the creation of a new culture of self-determination—although such radical ideas were hardly new, as Borsodi’s book shows. This Ugly Civilization rejects the reign of quantity over quality in both man and machine, along with the concomitant rise of consumerism and groupthink. Above and beyond mere self-sufficiency, Barsodi champions an appreciation of beauty, uniqueness and craftsmanship over the factory conformity being imposed in every sector of life. He has written a pragmatic, poetic and philosophical work that will speak to every thoughtful nonconformist. It represents an early seed of the Green Revolution that continues to promote health, comfort and independence. It is about living a whole, organic life and developing the potential of the individual, the family and the surrounding community. Ralph Borsodi (1888–1977) was a decentralist, agrarian and homesteader, among other interests. He was the author of more than a dozen books and helped to establish a number of intentional communities. Bill Sharp is founder and director of Transition Centre (www.transitioncentre.org). In addition to having been a trustee and historian for the School of Living, Sharp has managerd a number of projects related to community, economic and human development.

The Myth of Natural Rights: Expanded & Revised

NBBDev — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 18:23:52 +0000

By L.A. Rollins; Preface by Kevin I. Slaughter; Introduction by TGGP 4.25 x 7 | 206 pages George H. Smith once described The Myth of Natural Rights as “a scathing, all-out attack.” This was not hyperbole. First published in 1983 by Loompanics Unlimited, L.A. Rollins’ incisive monograph sought not merely to dethrone the doctrine of natural law that had come to dominate libertarian discourse, but to upend the very foundations of moral philosophy. Describing himself as an “amoralist” and an “egoist of sorts,” Rollins echoed Stirner alone in his insouciant refusal to genuflect before the pieties of intellectual fashion. While few readers would embrace Rollins’ intractable moral skepticism, his short book struck a powerful chord. As the text was discussed in marginal periodicals, it gathered an almost scandalous aura, eliciting both approbation and excoriation for its lacerating critique of natural rights theory—particularly as exposited by such libertarian luminaries as Murray Rothbard, Tibor Machan and Ayn Rand. In 1985, The Myth of Natural Rights would become a central exhibit in a spirited debate that spanned several issues of Samuel Konkin’s New Libertarian magazine. The forum included contributions by Robert LeFevre, Murray Rothbard, Sidney E. Parker and Robert Anton Wilson, along with a reply by L.A. Rollins himself. Although Rollins’ engagement with the libertarian cognoscenti would soon come to an end, the dam had broken. This definitive reissue features a new publishers preface and has been supplemented to include all of the relevant essays that originally appeared in New Libertarian, along with extant commentaries and rejoinders by L.A. Rollins.

Table of Contents 2019 Publisher’s Preface Kevin I. Slaughter 2008 Publisher’s Preface Chip Smith 2008 Introduction TGGP The Myth of Natural Rights New Libertarian Debates Author’s Note Natural Outlaws vs Natural Lawmen Samuel Edward Konkin III Libertarians: Natural Outlaws, Natural Bastards Jeff Riggenbach On the Duty of Natural Outlaws to Shut Up Murray N. Rothbard Roughing-Up Rights George H. Smith A Letter Sidney E. Parker Natural Law Robert Anton Wilson Natural Rights! Robert LeFevre Kranky Notions Jeff Riggenbach A Reply to My Reviewers Instead of an Afterword Acknowledgements Recommended Reading Cover Gallery

Might is Right: The Authoritative Edition

NBBDev — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 23:52:42 +0000

Paperback | 6 x 9 | 406 pp.

“Nothing is true; nothing is sacred; all things are open to you; blessed be the Vanquishers.”

A truly authoritative edition of Might is Right by Ragnar Redbeard. The variant text of five original editions harmonized into one, with thousands of previously undocumented footnotes and citations. New introduction by Peter H. Gilmore, High Priest of the Church of Satan. Newly indexed. Might is Right is a book of action and not belief. It is poetry, not a platform. Since the first edition in 1896, Might is Righthas inspired those across a dynamic political and philosophical spectrum. The consistent core of the work is this: the individual is against everything but the self, and any means of proliferation of the self is the only good. Might is the power of the individual, and that is the only foundation of Right. Published in 1896, Might is Right went through five editions during the lifetime of Ragnar Redbeard, who had just moved to America, escaping the law in Australia. Every one of these had a plethora of changes and reversions, many subtly coloring the meaning of the text, others leaving literal gaps on the printed page where words were physically removed from the printing plates. Now Might is Right: The Authoritative Edition not only reveals one authoritative text, but adds thousands of citations and notations to reveal a much greater story underneath the text. Every literary reference is cited, every name is given biographical sketch. Redbeard’s voice is given echo in some of the contemporary and historical figures that his ideas of an amoral philosophical egoism are in accord with. Magus Peter H. Gilmore provides an introduction that gives context to the book and how it was deconstructed and used to create the first chapter of Anton Szandor LaVey’s “diabolically self-deifying” The Satanic Bible.

“It is surely one of the most incendiary works ever to be published anywhere… Redbeard surely undermined the largest part of the rationale to which conventional society appeared to be anchored.” —James J. Martin, Laurance Labadie: Selected Essays 1978

Lucifer’s Lexicon: Expanded & Revised

NBBDev — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 23:42:41 +0000

4.5 x 7 | 206 pages Inspired by Ambrose Bierce’s The Devil’s Dictionary, L.A. Rollins first unsheathed his lexicographer’s lance in the pages of marginal political periodicals during the mid-1980s. At a time when objectivist orthodoxy and Cold War political theater dominated libertarian discourse, Rollins’ distinctive brand of irreverent irony stood out. He skewered shibboleths and dethroned dogmas from all quarters, and his trenchant jeu de mots made a lasting impression in the minds of many readers. In 1987, Loompanics Unlimited released the first edition of Lucifer’s Lexicon, a freewheeling compilation of Rollins’ satirical definitions – including content deemed too inflammatory for less adventurous publishers. Though the book would become a cult classic, Rollins’ contrarian take on certain closely guarded historical and religious taboos chafed the sensibilities of some gatekeepers. Following its release, Rollins – who had previously courted controversy for his incisive critique of natural rights theory – was marked a pariah. The present edition is the first in a series of portable paperbacks being published by Nine-Banded Books and Underworld Amusements to chronicle the work of L.A. Rollins. With slight revision, it incorporates the “canonical” Loompanics text, now extensively supplemented to include never-before-published material that Rollins produced until his death in 2015. It is presented with a new introduction by Attack the System editor, MRDA, and a publisher’s preface. Laced with caustic wit, nimble wordplay, and surefooted erudition, Lucifer’s Lexicon stands as a testament to L.A. Rollins’ enduring stature as an ingenious underground satirist and equal-opportunity iconoclast. __________ 01/05/2019 Update Following a bit of scuffle with our distribution plan, Lucifer’s Lexicon is now available. If you ordered a copy from Nine-Banded Books before the new year you should have it by now. Below are links to other places where you can get the book: Underworld Amusements Quimby’s (in Chicago) Amazon (U.S.A.) Amazon (U.K.)

The Unique and Its Property

NBBDev — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 23:09:25 +0000

New translation by Wolfi Landstreicher 6×9 | 378 pages 9BB Comments: If you’ve struggled with the Byington translation, sensing the presence of a livelier spirit beneath so much halting clause-laden logomachy, you’re in for a treat. While the 9BB editorial staff cannot vouch for the linguistic fidelity of Wolfi Landsteicher’s translative efforts (seeing as we spreche nicht gut Deutsch), it’s clear that he has succeeded in breathing new life into this singular classic work of philosophical iconoclasm. We’re content to trust our instincts and enjoy the ride. Stirner remains mysterious, unruly, and important. He was also, it now seems, a most brilliant troll. From the publisher: “I am not nothing in the sense of emptiness, but am the creative nothing, the nothing out of which I myself create everything as creator.” —Max Stirner FIRST NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE TRANSLATION SINCE 1907. The Unique and Its Property brings to the world a radical view: egoism, the notion that the individual is the measure of all things. Max Stirner’s opus was first published in 1845. In 1907 Benjamin R. Tucker published the first English-language translation of Der Einzige und sein Eigenthum, carried out by Steven T. Byington and titled The Ego and His Own. Every edition of Stirner’s book since that time has been a reproduction or revision of the Byington translation—until now. In the first new English-language translation since 1907, egoist anarchist author and historian Wolfi Landstreicher has brought forward both the form and the intent of Stirner’s work. Where Byington downplayed or missed Stirner’s more biting criticisms and his humor, the Underworld Amusements edition delivers every “occasional crudity” and all the “playful ferocity.” Every group demands loyalty to the group, their notion of right and wrong, and most of all a polarized opposition to their opponents. The Unique and Its Property is an antidote to moralists of the sacred and the secular alike. It is an illuminating torch to light the lonely path of the intrepid individual, not incidentally also setting ablaze every prevailing politic and philosophy.

Homo, 99 and 44/100% Nonsapiens

NBBDev — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 17:31:34 +0000

“We live under the sword of Damocles with each moment tenuously and precariously hanging by the thread of uncertainty. What does it profit a man to sweat and groan for a future that may terminate in the atomic rubble of the next moment? Why build a brave new world atop an active volcano?” – Gerald B. Lorentz In 2007, Gerald B. Lorentz was 91 years old and had retired to Hawaii with his wife. He’d lived a full life travelling the world, running various businesses and devoting himself to the study of history and the animal known by science as homo sapiens. At five years of age he began to question Santa Claus, and found the stories to be bunk. From there he had an incessant drive to dissect not only the mechanics of the physical world, but the mechanics of human society. Born in 1915, he would see massive shifts in society, and live through some of the most devastating and technologically astounding events. His keen sense of reason time and again lead him to a conclusion that man was not “wise” at all as the binomial nomenclature would have us believe. The near totality of the human was just as vicious, cunning and brutish as any other animal. His youthful skepticism of the traditional holiday myths developed into something harder. He writes, “History clearly proves that man is a plunderer, a killer, and a hypocrite. He cannot face the reality of his own despicable nature. Even when he kills he fancies that he performs a service to God or country. Capitalism satisfies all the predatory instincts natural to man in the economic purlieu; that is, satisfies his need to plunder, prey, defend; and to mask his predations with euphemisms and hypocorisms…” He spent time in London, Paris, Moscow, Istanbul, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, etc., and his position as radio/electronics officer left him with 90% of his time to study, reflect and dissect. In 1985 this life experience and mental conflagration culminated in the first edition of this, his magnum opus. In it he spells out and elaborates on his unorthodox and social Darwinian view of man. He devastatingly tackles the major human affairs one by one. His dedication is to truth with no consideration for phony morals and political correctness that cause many with socially heretical thoughts to remain quiet. Describing the work he said, “The essence of this book is an aversion to ignorance and a craving for unlimited knowledge.” Politics, Economics, Law, Religion, Science, Art and Race each successively come under his mental calipers and pliers. Eventually this culminates into a tearing down of the greatest human myth, that of Free Will. Lorentz does not stop at mere conclusions, feigning academic disinterest or fearing disapproval, he firmly submits resolutions. His book was met with little public acclaim, though it did become quite a sought after object by a certain type of thinker. Twenty-two years after publication Lorentz was approached for a new edition of his book, and it was one of the last public pronouncements that he made that his great work would not forever disappear into the nothingness. He died shortly after the agreement was solidified, and now APOP Records and Underworld Amusements have joined to finally republish it revised and with a new foreword and afterword by the author. It will stand as his vision of the world unvarnished. It is a view that will be rejected as too cynical or outrageous by most, certainly by the 99 44/100% of humans that are indeed unwise. Contents Foreword · 7 Born to Kill · 11 The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave · 49 Nonsapiens, Politics, and Economics · 102 Nonsapiens and Law · 155 Nonsapiens and Religion · 197 Nonsapiens, Science, and Art · 262 Nonsapiens and Race · 319 Nonsapiens and Free Will · 389 Prologue · 419 For a few years before his death, Gerald maintained his own website. On one of the earliest incarnations in 2003 he had written the following greeting: DEAR FRIENDS AND BITTER ENEMIES It may seem odd to include “enemies” in a salutation, but this has a rationale. Perhaps it’s realism’s reducto ad absurdum. I am a realist if I am anything. The fact is that we all have enemies from pure necessity because we live in a world that is defined by opposites,. For example, there can be no “up” without a “down”, no light without darkness, etc. Neither can there be “good” without “evil”. God needs Satan. Without opposites being is identical to nonbeing. What is this leading to? Simply this: As a realist who has devoted his entire life to study and research, I have learned a few basic truths, precepts and axioms, a summary of which are:

There are no absolutes except that everything is relative.
There is only ONE source to truth and that is the scientific method.
Nature invented human beings, and human beings invented gods.
Democracy is the best form of government, but only if the electorate are the best forms of people.
Enjoy yourself in this life because betting on

Gun Fag Manifesto

NBBDev — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 17:10:15 +0000

The subtitle said it all: “Entertainment for the Armed Sociopath.” Assembled by the elusive outlaw journalist “Hollister Kopp,” Gun Fag Manifesto was lovingly – and sincerely – devoted to guns, gun play, gun culture, gun counterculture, gun rights, gun art, gun porn, and . . . ammo. It was also one of the most psychotically inspired literary creatures to emerge from the black lagoon of zinedom, training its sights on an open range of politically correct targets and combining incendiary rhetoric with wildly irresponsible gonzo reportage for an effect that was as smart as it was funny as it was irreverent. Alas, like some few other worthwhile basement-budget publications from that micro-era (the pre-Google 90s), Gun Fag Manifesto seems to have disappeared down the memory hole. To remedy this injustice, Nine-Banded Books has teamed up with Underworld Amusements to collect all three issues of Herr Kopp’s legendary high-capacity zine under one cover – locked and loaded with a new introduction by Hollister and a foreword by ANSWER Me! editor Jim Goad. You’re welcome.

A Bible Not Borrowed from the Neighbors

NBBDev — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 16:44:49 +0000

Underworld Amusements has released this compilation of “Essays and Aphorisms on Egoism,” edited by Kevin I. Slaughter. The writings collected here are from the contemporaries of Ragnar Redbeard, radical thinkers who went against the herd with all their might. They upheld themselves as Gods, all other concerns come after that. Blasphemous, mocking and visceral, they are the children of Nietzsche, Stirner and Thoreau. Though often overlapping with Anarchists, they are too individualistic for many so-called anarchists who are often just Socialist-minded egalitarian Utopians.