------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the June 15, 2000 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------

Knowledge is power

Leftbooks.com adds exciting new titles

Special to Workers World

Leftbooks.com, a growing source for progressive books and videos, has added 16 new titles.

"Some of these books will never make it to your local bookstore," said Deirdre Sinnott, developer of the web site. "You can order them now at http://www.leftbooks.com.

"It's our goal to do a lot of the searching and sorting work for people," she explained. "Because large bookstores select titles based solely on the bottom line--profit--many smaller publishers have been wiped out or marginalized. Political books and books about the revolutionary struggle hardly get the shelf space that a novel by super-patriot Tom Clancy might get."

Sinnott said: "One of the most important and hard to find books is titled 'FARC-EP Historical Outline.' It gives a historical account of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Peoples Army (FARC-EP), one of the main insurgencies in Colombia, from the civil war of 1948 to the present. It also includes political and programmatic documents that outline the FARC-EP's vision of a new Colombia, without exploiters or exploited."

Also new on the list is "Censored 2000," a collection of this year's 25 top censored or underreported news stories. "If you want to find out what stories didn't make the nightly news or the newspapers this is an important book to see," Sinnott said.

Leftbooks.com has also added books about Latin America and the Caribbean--an area of vital interest for both new activists and long-time organizers. There are new titles on Cuba, like "Washington on Trial: The People of Cuba vs. U.S. Government," or the classic reference text no Cuba activist should be without, "Cuba and the United States: a Chronological History."

Newly released is "The José Martí Reader: Writings on the Americas." It's an outstanding new anthology of the writings, poetry and letters of José Martí--one of the most brilliant and impassioned Latin American intellectuals of the 19th century.

Also added is the inspirational memoir "I Was Never Alone: A Prison Diary from El Salvador." Guerrilla Commander Nidia Díaz tells the story of her 190-day prison ordeal. And copies of "Che in Africa: Che Guevara's Congo Diary" are in.

"We have also added former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's new book 'Eyes of the Heart: Seeking a Path for the Poor in the Age of Globalization,'" Sinnott said. "And the 1998 book by John Ross, 'The Annexation of Mexico: From the Aztecs to the I.M.F.'"

Also available is "The Roots of Lesbian & Gay Oppression: A Marxist View." This groundbreaking book was originally published as a pamphlet in 1976, during the first flush of the young gay liberation movement. Its unparalleled achievement is its historical analysis of when, where, why and how lesbian and gay oppression developed.

"Read Che Guevara's police dossier in 'Che and the FBI,' 'ZR Rifle: The Plot to Kill Kennedy and Castro,' or 'Deadly Deceits' about Ralph McGehee's 25 years in the CIA if you want to know the truth about what actions the U.S. government carries out in your name," stressed Sinnott.

"You may have a copy of some classic anti-imperialist books like 'Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II.' But you also may know someone who is about to join the military who needs this kind of information right away.

"Knowledge is power and we at leftbooks.com want to get the power into the hands of the people," Sinnott concluded.

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