BY MAURICE WILLIAMS
Supporters of the Militant and the Spanish monthly Perspectiva Mundial are finding many opportunities to promote the new Pathfinder title Pombo: A Man of Che's `Guerrilla.' The book is the first hand account of Harry Villegas, a Cuban fighter who was a member of Che Guevara's general staff during the 1966- 68 revolutionary struggle in Bolivia and is today a brigadier general in Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces.

"We sold a lot of Pathfinder literature throughout the week-long national convention of the NAACP in Pittsburgh," writes Tony Dutrow, a steelworker there. "Participants snatched up 95 Pathfinder titles, including seven copies of Pombo: A Man of Che's `Guerrilla,' four copies of the pamphlet At the Side of Che Guevara, and 32 books by or about Malcolm X.

"We staffed a literature table just outside the doors of the convention center, where we also sold two Militant subscriptions and 71 single issues of the paper," he added. "The Socialist Workers candidate for mayor of Pittsburgh, Edwin Fruit, and his running mate for city council, Leroy Watson, helped staff the table and gathered petitions for their campaign."

One convention participant from Chicago walked up to the table and asked, "What books would you recommend I buy? I need something to take back with me that would help others understand what we will be facing in the future." She purchased a subscription to the Militant and several books, including The Changing Face of U.S. Politics: Working-Class Politics and the Trade Unions, How Far We Slaves Have Come: South Africa and Cuba in Today's World, Malcolm X on Afro- American History, copies of the Marxist magazine New International issues no. 7 and no. 10, Pombo: A Man of Che's `Guerrilla,' and a Pathfinder Readers Club membership.

Many convention delegates expressed interest in the expansion of NATO and the stepped up U.S. war moves after seeing the Militant's front page article on that topic. This discussion also spurred sales of such Pathfinder titles as Fighting Racism in World War II, along with several copies of How Far We Slaves Have Come, featuring speeches by Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro, and copies of the Leon Trotsky's pamphlet Fascism: What It Is and How to Fight It.

"In the last two weeks of June we sold seven copies of At the Side of Che Guevara and one Spanish-language edition of the pamphlet," said Militant supporter Holly Harkness in Detroit. This new title contains two interviews with Harry Villegas. "A lot customers walked into the bookstore and grabbed for those titles. We also sold three copies of Pombo: A Man of Che's `Guerrilla' and eight other books about the Cuban revolution," she added.

"We sold 50 Pathfinder titles on July 22, including 40 books where we set up tables across New York City to petition for the Socialist Workers candidates: Olga Rodríguez for mayor, Wendy Lyons for comptroller, and Shoghi Fret for public advocate," said airline worker Nancy Rosenstock. "One Jamaican guy driving an ice cream truck identified with a sign on our table that read `Defend Cuba's Socialist Revolution,' and readily bought a copy of Pombo: A Man of Che's `Guerrilla.'" The petitioners also sold one subscription each to the Militant and Perspectiva Mundial. "We also sold 10 books at the send off rally for the World Festival of Youth and Students in Cuba," Rosenstock added.

Goals to sell books, Militant renewals
Socialist workers and members of the Young Socialists will be concentrating their efforts from August 1- September 1 to sell the newest titles published by Pathfinder: Pombo: A Man of Che's `Guerrilla,' At the Side of Che Guevara, and the Spanish-language edition of The Changing Face of U.S. Politics. Selling the English edition of this book will also be a part of the campaign. Pathfinder is making a special sales offer on these titles, advertised on the front page.

At the same time the Militant is organizing a three-week subscription renewal drive of the Militant and Perspectiva Mundial, from August 2 - August 24. The next Militant will list local goals in these efforts.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home