Along with approximately 80 other titles on explosives and improvised weaponry, Paladin ceased publication of these works following the Hit Man settlement and federal legislation making such distribution legally risky.
Paladin Press was a Colorado-based publishing company known as the "most dangerous publisher in the world" due to its catalog of books on improvised munitions, assassination, and unconventional warfare. While "banned" is often used colloquially, the company's most controversial works were primarily removed from the market following high-profile civil lawsuits or restricted due to their use in criminal acts.
Which of these would you like?
Forums, peer-to-peer torrent networks, and specialized databases store the more extreme manuals on munitions, fraud, and tactical combat.
They published works on "combatives," including WWII-era Fairbairn techniques and street-fighting systems like Bare-Knuckle Boxer's Companion Lockpicking: How to Open Locks Without Keys or Picks remains one of their most-searched technical manuals. Guerrilla Warfare: Many titles, such as the African Merc Combat Manual
Founded in 1970 by Peder Lund and Robert K. Brown, Paladin Press originally catered to military veterans, survivalists, and firearms enthusiasts. Over the decades, its catalog expanded into extreme fringe topics, including advanced martial arts, improvised explosives, lockpicking, and illegal financial schemes. The publisher operated on a distinct philosophy: information itself is neutral, and the public has a First Amendment right to access it. The Legal Turning Point: Hit Man
Paladin Press was a controversial publishing house known for printing technical manuals on topics ranging from survivalism and martial arts to more extreme subjects like improvised explosives, sabotage, and "dirty tricks." While many of their titles remain in circulation or are available in digital archives, several became the center of major legal battles due to their proximity to criminal activities . Most Controversial and "Banned" Titles
: This book gained notoriety after it was alleged to have assisted Timothy McVeigh in planning the Oklahoma City bombing.
While “banned books” is a common phrase for these rare titles, a more precise term would be “suppressed” or “destroyed.” The most famous “banned” titles were not merely taken out of print; following major lawsuits in the 1990s, Paladin Press was legally compelled to destroy thousands of existing copies.
The history of Paladin Press serves as a case study in the tension between the desire for unrestricted information and the concerns of public safety. The "banned" status of its most controversial books highlights the legal complexities of publishing materials that discuss dangerous or illegal activities.
While originally published by Lyle Stuart in 1971, Paladin Press distributed versions and similar offshoots of William Powell’s infamous manual. The book details the creation of homemade explosives, telecommunications sabotage, and illicit drugs. Powell later disavowed the book, expressing regret over its creation, but it remains a staple of dark-web archives.
Following the company's closure in 2017, the demand for digital versions of Paladin Press books has continued among historians and collectors.
Despite the publisher’s demise, the circulation of these digital files remains a topic of concern for safety organizations due to the nature of the information contained within them. The Legacy of Paladin Press
Following a landmark court case ( Rice v. Paladin Enterprises, Inc. ), the publisher settled and agreed to stop selling the book and destroy remaining copies. It is effectively banned from commercial sale by the original publisher. The Anarchist Arsenal by David Harber
