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Biography & Autobiography Personal Memoirs

Direct Action

Memoirs of an Urban Guerrilla

by (author) Ann Hansen

Publisher
Between the Lines
Initial publish date
Sep 2001
Category
Personal Memoirs, Environmental Conservation & Protection, Political
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781896357409
    Publish Date
    Sep 2001
    List Price
    $24.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781771131308
    Publish Date
    Dec 2022
    List Price
    $18.99

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Description

Ann Hansen stood trial as one of the so-called “Squamish Five.” Sentenced to life in prison, she served seven years. Now she tells her story for the first time.

Direct Action captures the excitement and indignation of the counterculture of the early ’80s. Missile tests were fuelling a new arms race. Reckless megaprojects threatened the global environment. Alienation, punk rock, and militancy were on the rise. Hansen and her fellow urban guerrillas believed that sabotaging government and corporate property could help turn things around. To prove their point, they bombed the Litton Systems plant in Toronto, where components for Cruise Missiles were being made.

Hansen’s book poses unresolved ethical dilemmas. In light of the recent explosion of anti-globalization protests, Direct Action mirrors the resurgence of militant activity around the world.

About the author

Ann Hansen served seven years of a life sentence in federal prisons. She is a prison abolition activist and author of Direct Action: Memoirs of an Urban Guerrilla..

Ann Hansen's profile page