Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla


The Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla is a book written by Brazilian terrorist and political activist, as well as guerrilla fighter Carlos Marighella in 1969. It consists of advice on how to disrupt and overthrow a State, aiming at revolution, specially in the context of classical marxist political theory. The text has been banned in many countries, but remains in print and on bookshelves in several others, including the United States.
The minimanual was written to be short and concise, describing ways and strategies for a successful revolution, such as the ones in Cuba and China.
Published five years after the rise of the Brazilian dictatorship in 1964, and just one year after the worldwide 1968 student rebellions, and at a time where hopes for international revolution among far-left militants and intellectuals were at their highest, the Minimanual became an important tool and reference point for many Maoist, Trotskyist and revolutionary socialist activists and guerrillas. It was also studied extensively by “national liberation” movements and organizations such as the PLO and the Sandinistas in Latin America.