Participants from around the world were drawn to the table out of interest in the array of titles Pathfinder carries, coverage of world struggles in the Militant and Perspectiva Mundial, as well as by the ongoing political conversations participants would be engaged in at the table.

Before the conference itself had even begun, delegates from Mexico, Venezuela, and Guatemala snapped up all five copies of El aborto: derecho fundamental de la mujer, the Spanish-language translation of Abortion Is a Woman's Right. Books on women's liberation were in high demand at the conference. The English and Spanish copies of Woman's Evolution, Sexism and Science, and The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State sold out, as did every copy of Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle by Thomas Sankara, a revolutionary leader who fought in Burkina Faso.

A leader of the Federation of University Students in Jalisco, Mexico, approached the table and studied the poster of the Pathfinder Mural for some time. The mural, painted on the side of the Pathfinder Building in New York, depicted communist and working-class leaders of the past century and a half. It was painted by 80 artists from 30 countries. Discussion about the mural led to another on the struggles by working people in the United States today, and the possibilities the rising resistance there opens up for anti-imperialist fighters around the world.

He left the table with Spanish-language copies of The Changing Face of U.S. Politics, Making History, and Capitalism's World Disorder and the next day purchased U.S. Imperialism Has Lost the Cold War.

Two Cuban youth picked up U.S. Imperialism Has Lost the Cold War. "What do you think of that title?" a young socialist asked. "We haven't read it yet," said 24-year-old Levy Alba, an English major at Las Villas University. "But, the title seems to me at least partially right. The purpose of the Cold War was aimed at destroying socialism. Even though those governments are gone people there still fight against imperialism. And we are still here," he said with a grin. "So they failed. And the socialist revolution that happened in the USSR showed that capitalism is not eternal."

Manuel Pradas, his 23-year-old school mate, added, "We know about concentration camps and forced labor," under Stalinist rule, Alba commented. "A couple of years ago we did not know this, but now there is more available to read."

Nearly 30 copies of Capitalism's World Disorder, 14 of U.S. Imperialism Has Lost the Cold War, and more than 15 copies of The Changing Face of U.S. Politics in the three languages were sold. These were the most sought after titles available at the table.

Participants bought over 40 books on the Cuban revolution, 21 on women's liberation, and more than 25 New Internationals. Nearly 20 copies of Che Guevara Talks to Young People were bought, promoted as part of the conference by Cuban leader and author of the book's preface, Armando Hart.

Delegates, including some Quebec independence fighters, took interest in Rafael Cancel Miranda's Puerto Rico: Independence is a Necessity. Ten copies were sold.

Half a dozen participants from Haiti visited the table nearly every day. "I asked them if books like these were available in Haiti," said Joe Young, a socialist worker from Montreal who was staffing the literature table during one of the visits. "They said the only books they see are in people's personal libraries and they get passed from person to person. They took every book they could get their hands on."

The Join the Young Socialists booklet was also of interest to some delegates. Five people picked up that title including a young Jamaican who is studying engineering in Cuba and preparing to return to his country. After reading through the pamphlet that he bought, he wanted to know if he could start a chapter of the Young Socialists in Jamaica. Kern met with him about this prospect and plans to keep in touch and find ways to collaborate when he gets back to Jamaica.

In all, more than 300 books and pamphlets were sold at the table.  
 
 
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