"An open house at the Pathfinder Bookstore was packed," reported Norton Sandler. "About 70 people came in during the day. We organized a program featuring James Harris, chairperson of the Socialist Workers Party in Georgia; Jason Alessio, a national leader of the Young Socialists; and Rollande Girard, the party's candidate for mayor of Miami-Dade County in Florida."

The bookstore is located right on the march route. "Six farmers came by as well as young people from many different states," Sandler said. Socialist workers and youth set up five literature tables and sold $250 worth of Pathfinder literature.

In Columbia, South Carolina, marchers picked up 70 copies of the Militant and 10 Pathfinder books. Two subscribed to the paper. One participant suggested a nearby bookstore might be interested in carrying Pathfinder titles. Mary Martin from Washington, D.C., and Floyd Fowler from Atlanta visited the buyer there at the end of the day. She purchased two copies of Capitalism's World Disorder on the spot and expressed an interest in ordering a range of other titles.

The following day a team, which included two members of the Young Socialists, set up an all-day table at the University of South Carolina. They contacted a person who had expressed interest in Capitalism's World Disorder the previous day at the march, who decided to purchase a copy.

Mary Martin writes, "We met many students who had been at the demonstration the previous day who were proud of their protest." Eight students signed up for more information on the Young Socialists and 22 people purchased copies of the Militant.  
 

Nancy Cole said they placed eight books in stores in the Philadelphia region "in conjunction with other political work we were doing. When we put in applications for a job in West Chester, we visited bookstores in the area which led to the placement of two books. We sold one book to a co-worker after going with him to the picket line of strikers against Overnite trucking."

"In Seattle we surpassed all of our targets," said Scott Breen, a member of the IAM at Boeing. "John Naubert and myself sold four copies of Capitalism's World Disorder to co-workers, four to steelworkers on lockout at Kaiser, and one to a carpenter during the World Trade Organization protests. Two of the Kaiser workers bought their copies at the WTO events as well. In addition, we placed 11 copies of the book in bookstores and libraries.

"During a trip to Spokane in October, we visited bookstores and also had lengthy political discussions with two locked-out steelworkers, one of whom is also a farmer. One is reading Capitalism's World Disorder. He got a subscription to the Militant too," added Breen.

Socialists in the IAM in Washington, D.C., visited eight bookstores, three of which took books. Like other places where Capitalism's World Disorder was placed, most of these stores had been suggested by co-workers, including an Islamic bookstore suggested by a Turkish co-worker.

"Although most of the books in the store were in Arabic, the owner was impressed by pictures in Capitalism's World Disorder of demonstrators in Algeria and protests in New Jersey against harassment in the Arab community," said Janice Lynn, an IAM member at United Airlines.

Lynn and Mary Martin, another IAM member who works at Northwest Airlines in Washington, D.C., made a number of visits to the Newport News shipyard strike last year. Three strikers bought Capitalism's World Disorder. "The sales happened after many visits to the picket line and many discussions," explained Lynn. "Some people said to get back to them after the strike and they would get the book. One co-worker at Northwest bought the book after we pointed out the part on the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association that explains craft unionism and the section on fascism and Patrick Buchanan. He also bought the book on the Eastern Airlines strike," she said.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home