The sale of 123 books and pamphlets more than doubled the previous high for sales set in 1998. Pathfinder has participated in the Printers Row Book Fair for a decade. Sales of 83 different titles also marked a change, indicating interest in reading about a broad range of developments in world politics.

In previous years books about the Cuban Revolution had been the only substantial category of sales. This year there were eight categories fair-goers showed interest in. These included Black and African struggles, Jewish and Middle East questions, labor issues, Latin American and Caribbean struggles, and speeches and writings by Malcolm X, Russian revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky, and Jack Barnes, the author of Capitalism’s World Disorder, Cuba and the Coming American Revolution, and a number of other titles featured at the Pathfinder booth.

Pathfinder Books supporters organized to pack a large number of titles into a small space. A wire rack and a wooden shelf, along with two rows of books resting spine up, helped expand the spread of titles available. An easel with a large display poster helped attract attention. Below it, pamphlets were displayed on a literature rack, and a box on the ground contained an assortment of marked-down books.

Among the best selling titles were February 1965: The Final Speeches by Malcolm X, Capitalism’s World Disorder, Che Guevara Talks to Young People, and Cuba and the Coming American Revolution.

Visitors to the booth were often standing three-deep to get a look at the range of titles. One was a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant opposed to Zionism who found it refreshing to discuss the Middle East with one of the volunteers. Several young people wanted to learn more about socialism and ended up putting down their names for more information about the weekly Militant Labor Forums held at the Pathfinder bookstore. An environmental consultant who travels frequently to Cuba for agricultural projects brought a friend to the table to introduce her to books on Cuba. A new subscriber to the Militant said she was inspired to read more about Cuba because a family member had just returned from the island.

After looking over the table, several people asked, "Who is Jack Barnes?" and wanted to know more about the movement he spoke for. This led to discussions about the Socialist Workers Party, of which Barnes is the national secretary, and the prospects for building a proletarian party in the United States. An older trade union member wanted to make sure the Pathfinder edition of Eugene V. Debs Speaks was the "right one, the one with [James P.] Cannon’s introduction."

Bookstore volunteers made sure there were at least four people staffing the table at all times, which made a difference in the overall sales results. In all, 20 people, many of them socialist workers and young socialists, put in a total of 84 hours staffing the booth.

Among the volunteers, several were staffing a table of socialist literature for the first time. Two young people who regularly attend Militant Labor Forums joined the effort. One, who works at a garment plant, was thrilled after she sold a customer her first title, the Spanish edition of Rafael Cancel Miranda’s Puerto Rico: Independence is a Necessity.  
 
 
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