The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.61/No.40           November 17, 1997 
 
 
Pathfinder Fund Over The Top!  

BY PETER THIERJUNG
NEW YORK - Supporters of Pathfinder Press from around the world have put the $125,000 international Pathfinder Fund over the top! From Auckland, New Zealand, to Reykjavik, Iceland, and in more than 18 U.S. cities, supporters have campaigned for eight weeks raising $134,330.

"Thank you to everyone who contributed to the fund," said Luis Madrid, director of the Pathfinder Fund and an editor at the New York-based publishing house. "The generous contributions of many supporters will not only cover this year's expenses of publishing 10 new titles and issuing more than 60 reprints, but are a down payment on three more new titles we plan to publish in the next few months."

In an interview from Cleveland, where he is currently on a promotion tour for Pathfinder, Madrid reported that there have been positive results from visiting libraries and campus and commercial bookstores.

"The sharpening volatility of the capitalist system brought home by the recent stock market dive and the increased resistance by workers and farmers evidenced today by the fight of truckers in France - these events are generating increased interest in Pathfinder titles among workers and youth.

"The funds raised keep the publishing pipeline open for the more than 300 titles by revolutionary and working-class leaders. This is an invaluable arsenal for those who are resisting the effects of the capitalist crisis. Just think of it," Madrid said, "French truckers can now pick up a copy of The Changing Face of U.S. Politics: Working-Class Politics and the Trade Unions in French. Workers and youth who read Spanish can now read the book in their language.

"With increased interest generated by the 30th anniversary of Cuban revolution Ernesto Che Guevara's death, Pathfinder's titles by and about Guevara are indispensable contributions to the debates and discussions surrounding his legacy," he added.

"Having a fund meeting right at the beginning of the drive helped us focus and start collecting money," Nan Bailey, the local fund coordinator in Seattle reported. "The meeting had a panel that included trade unionists and a leader of farm workers in the state. It was organized professionally and helped motivate a broader layer of Pathfinder supporters to not only contribute but work together to help raise funds."

Ted Leonard from Boston reported that Pathfinder supporters there went way over their goal of winning 24 new contributors. "We won 50 first-time contributors to Pathfinder. Our success hinged on following up on their interest in working-class politics."  
 
 
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