Wooden Shoe Books

In conversation about his new book, How to Rule the World: The Coming Battle Over the Global Economy, journalist, activist, and policy analyst Mark Engler will discuss the collapse of neoliberal globalization and the challenges of fighting empire after Bush.

Glover is author of Green Jobs Philly, which introduces 100,000 environmental jobs that can be created here. "Philadelphia's next economy will thrive by repairing damage from the rise and fall of heavy industry. New technologies and social organizations will make our lives healthier, easier and more ... (more)secure." Glover teaches Metropolitan Ecology at Temple University, is founder of Philly Orchard Project, PhilaHealthia, and Ithaca HOURS local currency.

In the 1970s, numerous armed struggle groups in West Germany rose up. While a spate of new films, art exhibit, novels and even fashion lines have revisited the era in light of the 40th anniversary of the 1968 student demonstrations in Berlin and the 30th anniversary of the "German Autumn" of 1977, their ... (more)explorations of the groups and their politics tend to eclipse a thorough exploration of international and domestic political struggles. This talk will present some of the era's groups, such as the Red Army Faction, the June 2 Movement, the Revolutionary Cells and the Red Zora, contextualizing their critiques and actions in the international and domestic events of the time.

In the 1970s, numerous armed struggle groups in West Germany rose up. While a spate of new films, art exhibit, novels and even fashion lines have revisited the era in light of the 40th anniversary of the 1968 student demonstrations in Berlin and the 30th anniversary of the "German Autumn" of 1977, their ... (more)explorations of the groups and their politics tend to eclipse a thorough exploration of international and domestic political struggles. This talk will present some of the era's groups, such as the Red Army Faction, the June 2 Movement, the Revolutionary Cells and the Red Zora, contextualizing their critiques and actions in the international and domestic events of the time.

In the 1970s, numerous armed struggle groups in West Germany rose up. While a spate of new films, art exhibit, novels and even fashion lines have revisited the era in light of the 40th anniversary of the 1968 student demonstrations in Berlin and the 30th anniversary of the "German Autumn" of 1977, their ... (more)explorations of the groups and their politics tend to eclipse a thorough exploration of international and domestic political struggles. This talk will present some of the era's groups, such as the Red Army Faction, the June 2 Movement, the Revolutionary Cells and the Red Zora, contextualizing their critiques and actions in the international and domestic events of the time.

“An extraordinarily important and provocative reflection on the limitations of self-reform and reinvention within the American labor movement. The authors provide readers with a unique first-hand view of internal debates, personalities, and decision-making processes but also use their intimate knowledge ... (more)of union culture and carefully narrated case studies to transcend mere stone-throwing. This book is unlikely to be matched by any other journalistic account or memoir....A landmark in all debates about ‘what next’ for labor.” —Mike Davis, author of Prisoners of the American Dream

“An accessible and balanced exploration of recent efforts at community unionism, international solidarity, coalition with nonunion workers and empowerment of immigrants. Above all this is far and away the best argument for the importance of central labor unions that I have read.” —David R. Roediger, author of” Working Toward Whiteness”

New York City-based Seth Tobocman will offer a multimedia presentation of the work in his new book, "Disaster and Resistance: Comics and Landscapes for the 21st Century" (AK Press, 2008), and drummer Eric Blitz and guitarist Steve Wishnia will provide music. Seth is an artist and longtime activist and ... (more)educator, as well as cofounder of the comics zine "World War 3 Illustrated." Rebecca Migdal opens with a short mixed media, audience participation piece about the land rights struggle of the Maya in Southern Belize, including a slide show, video and situational theater.
Accompanists: Andy Laties, Steve Wishnia and Eric Blitz.

In his new book, Seth Tobocman outlines pressing social and political struggles at the dawn of the twenty-first century, from post 9-11 New York City to Israel and Palestine, to Iraq and New Orleans. Fans of his classic works, "You Don't Have to Fuck People Over to Survive" and "War in the Neighborhood," will see that his punch has not softened, and his work continues to skewer the individuals and institutions wreaking havoc across the globe today. In his bold comic style, Seth chronicles events as they happen, musing not on the chaos of instability and fear but on the struggle against it. Seth will be signing books after the show, which is about an hour long.

Labor Law for the Rank and Filer: Building Solidarity While Staying Clear of the Law is a guerrilla legal handbook for workers in a precarious global economy. Blending cutting-edge legal strategies for winning justice at work with a theory of dramatic social change from below, Staughton Lynd and Daniel ... (more)Gross deliver a practical guide for making work better while re-invigorating the labor movement.

Come for the reading and discussion of Just Like A Girl: A Manifesta! GirlChild Press has released its newest title - Just Like A Girl: A Manifesta! Edited by Michelle Sewell, with a foreword by Def Jam Poet Sonya Renee Taylor, this fiery, fierce collection of short stories, essays, and poems is a rough-and-tumble ... (more)travelogue through the bumpy, powerful, action-packed world of girl. The anthology features writings by an ethnically diverse cross-section of contributors ages 14-60, exploring the themes of love, fear, and forgiveness. Realizing the girl as superhereo!

GirlChild Press publishes work that celebrates the triumph and defiance of girls and women, and provides a quality forum to bring their diverse voices to the foreground.

With the tremendous success of GirlChild's most recent book, Growing Up Girl: An Anthology of Voices from Marginalized Spaces, the press is attracting more projects and writers. GirlChild's next anthology, Just Like A Girl: A Manifesta!, is slated for August 2008. A parenting handbook, centered on girls, is also in the works and will be released in September 2009.

Kevin Funk and Steve Fake, authors of the new book Scramble for Africa: Darfur
Intervention and the USA, analyze the current humanitarian crisis in Darfur and
the activist movements surrounding it, thereby taking on both the US government
and the Save Darfur coalition alike. The authors present the ... (more)basic information
on the political and military aspects of the conflict, examine the options, and
suggest ways forward, always with a concern for the broader international
implications and for the hundreds of thousands of victims.

John Ghazvinian, author of "Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil", calls their
book: "Explosive, masterful, and impeccably fair. Consider it the thinking
person's guide to Darfur."

The authors have been researching and writing about Darfur since early 2006.
Their writings have been published in such media as Foreign Policy in Focus,
Sudan Tribune, Common Dreams, CounterPunch, ZNet, and Black Commentator.

In a careful yet scathing indictment of this constellation of holier-than-thou government leaders, corporate media outlets, and spoon-fed NGOs, Steven Fake and Kevin Funk reveal the myriad ways in which the West has failed Darfur. From neglecting to provide sufficient humanitarian aid to millions of displaced Darfurians, to refusing to adequately support peacekeepers deployed in the region, the West has amply demonstrated its unwillingness to bridge the chasm between rhetoric and reality.

Eschewing liberal fantasies of Western benevolence, Fake and Funk unmask the hard reality behind "humanitarian intervention" advocacy, as well as the true nature of US-Sudanese relations. What emerges is a methodical and disturbing portrait of Washington's ongoing ties with some of the worst elements of the Khartoum regime. The authors delve deeply into the immensely harmful and little-known role that Washington has played in the country by decisively backing a series of repressive governments in Khartoum. Brutal enough in their own right, these machinations also set the stage for escalating conflict in Sudan, culminating in the present catastrophe.

Let Freedom Ring presents a two-decade sweep of essays, analyses, histories, interviews, resolutions, People's Tribunal verdicts, and poems by and about the scores of U.S. political prisoners and the campaigns to safeguard their rights and secure their freedom. In addition to an extensive section on ... (more)the campaign to free death-row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, represented here are the radical movements that have most challenged the U.S. empire from within: Black Panthers and other Black liberation fighters, Puerto Rican independentistas, Indigenous sovereignty activists, white anti-imperialists, environmental and animal rights militants, Arab and Muslim activists, Iraq war resisters, and others. Contributors in and out of prison detail the repressive methods--from long-term isolation to sensory deprivation to politically inspired parole denial--used to attack these freedom fighters, some still caged after 30+ years. This invaluable resource guide offers inspiring stories of the creative, and sometimes winning, strategies to bring them home.

Contributors include: Mumia Abu-Jamal, Dan Berger, Dhoruba Bin-Wahad, Bob Lederer, Terry Bisson, Laura Whitehorn, Safiya Bukhari, The San Francisco 8, Angela Davis, Bo Brown, Bill Dunne, Jalil Muntaqim, Susie Day, Luis Nieves Falcón, Ninotchka Rosca, Meg Starr, Assata Shakur, Jill Soffiyah Elijah, Jan Susler, Chrystos, Jose Lopez, Leonard Peltier, Marilyn Buck, Oscar López Rivera, Sundiata Acoli, Ramona Africa, Linda Thurston, Desmond Tutu, Mairead Corrigan Maguire and many more.

The Teaching Rebellion speaking tour aims to foster dialogue among activists from Oaxaca and the US around organizing strategies and movement building utilizing the experiences of the Oaxacan organiziers, who brought together labor, indigenous, women's, youth, and neighborhood organizations to build ... (more)a powerful movement for democracy and accountability. Speaker Silvia Hernádez will join us from Mexico, accompanied by co-facilitator and translator Chris Thomas, to speak about the book, present art and photography from Oaxaca and promote discussion and reflection on the former and current political climate in Oaxaca and its relevance to everyone organizing in their own communities.

Silvia Hernádez, a sociology student active in the barricades and in defense of Radio Universidad when it was under attack by state police, continues to actively organize for autonomous spaces and alternatives to the state's neoliberal development plans. She was arrested on July 16, 2007 when the Oaxacan social movement sought to occupy the Guelaguetza auditorium to carry out the traditional Guelaguetza festival, and spent nearly a month as a political prisoner. She belongs to VOCAL-Voces Oaxaquenas Construyendo Autonomìa y Libertad (Oaxacan Voices Constructing Autonomy and Liberty) and gives workshops in recycled art and urban agriculture.

Chris Thomas spent two years collaborating with groups working in the autonomous school system being developed in the Zapatista communities in the La Garrucha region where he worked with to develop teaching materials and reinforce the ongoing development of community educators in the region. He coordinated C.A.S.A. de la Paz from 2006-2007, and can generally be found somewhere between New York and Mexico.

"Once You Learn To Speak, You Don't Want To be Quiet Anymore."

In 2006, Oaxaca, Mexico came alive with a broad and diverse movement that captivated the nation and inspired communities organizing for social justice around the world. Fueled by long ignored social contradictions, what began as a teachers' strike demanding more resources for education quickly turned into a massive movement that demanded direct, participatory democracy. Hundreds of thousands of Oaxacans raised their voices against the abuses of the state government. They participated in marches of

up to 800,000 people, planned strategy over the barricades, occupied government buildings, took over radio stations, held sit-ins, and reclaimed spaces for public art and altars for assassinated activists. In the now legendary March of Pots and Pans, two thousand women peacefully took over and operated the state television channel for three weeks. All this despite the fierce repression that the movement faced—with hundreds arbitrarily detained, tortured, forced into hiding, or murdered by government forces and paramilitary death squads. And the Oaxacan people are still determined to make their voices heard.

Accompanied by photography and political art, Teaching Rebellion is a compilation of testimonies from longtime organizers, teachers, students, housewives, religious leaders, union members, schoolchildren, indigenous community activists, artists and journalists—and many others who participated in what became the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca. This is a chance to listen directly to those living and driving one of the most important social uprisings of the 21st century.

" Teaching Rebellion presents an inspiring tapestry of voices from the recent popular uprisings in Oaxaca. The reader is embraced with the cries of anguish and triumph, indignation and overwhelming joy, from the heart of this living rebellion."
Peter Gelderloos, author of How Nonviolence Protects the State

"These remarkable people tell us of the historic teachers' struggle for justice in Oaxaca, Mexico, and of the larger, hemispheric battle of all Indigenous people to end five hundred years of racism and repression."
Jennifer Harbury, author of Truth, Torture and the American Way

" During their marches and protests, whenever the Oaxaca rebels sighted a reporter, they would chant: "Press, if you have any dignity, the people of Oaxaca demand that you tell the truth." Teaching Rebellion answers that demand, with ample dignity, providing excellent context to understand the 2006 uprising and extensive and eloquent interviews with the participants themselves; an amazing read and an important contribution to the literature of contemporary rebellion."
John Gibler, author of Mexico Unconquered: Chronicles of Power and Revolt

Activism, organizing, social change, social movements, the social mind, public perception, swarming the streets, and revolutionary activity! What do these have in common? Rhetoric—the art and science of crafting communication to maximize social and political gains. From Emma Goldman to Subcomandante ... (more)Marcos, the most effective radicals are also the most effective communicators. Come join author Jason Del Gandio for an interactive presentation of his book, Rhetoric for Radicals: A Handbook for Twenty-First Century Activists.

The history of labor in the United States is a story of almost continuous violence. In Dynamite, Louis Adamic recounts one century of that history in vivid, carefully researched detail. Covering both well- and lesser-known events—from the riots of immigrant workers in the second quarter of the nineteenth ... (more)century to the formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)—he gives precise, and often brutal, meaning to the term "class war." As its title suggests, Dynamite refuses to sugarcoat the explosive and bloody legacy of the US labor movement. While quite clear that the causes of class violence lay with both the nature of capitalism and the specific policies of US industrialists, Adamic offers no apologies for the violent tactics workers employed in response. When peaceful strikes failed to yield results, working men and women fought back by any means necessary. The violent methods they used were often the only way that social injustices—from "ordinary" exploitation to massacres and judicial murder—could become visible, let alone be addressed. This AK Press edition of Adamic's revised 1934 version of Dynamite, includes a new foreword by professor and labor organizer Jon Bekken, who offers a critical overview of the work that underlines its contemporary relevance. Louis Adamic emigrated from Slovenia when he was fifteen years old and quickly joined the American labor force. Interspersing stints of manual labor with writing for Slovenian and English-language newspapers, he went on to receive a Guggenheim fellowship and to author of eleven books. He is now recognized as a great figure in early twentieth-century American literature. He was found shot to death in a burning farmhouse in 1954. Jon Bekken is co-author of The Industrial Workers of the World: Its First 100 Years (IWW 2006), and coeditor of Radical Economics and Labor: Essays Inspired by the IWW Centennial (Routledge, 2009). He is associate professor of communications at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania, a former General Secretary-Treasurer of the Industrial Workers of the World, and a member of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Review editorial collective. "A young immigrant with a vivid interest in labor—and the calluses to prove his knowledge was more than academic—Louis Adamic provided a unique, eyes-open-wide view of American labor history and indeed of American society. Dynamite was the first history of American labor ever written for a popular audience. While delineating the book's limitations, Jon Bekken's foreword also makes clear for today's readers its continuing significance." —Jeremy Brecher, historian and author of Strike! "Adamic's Dynamite is a classic, written with the verve and perspective of an author who was a first-hand observer and participant in many of the struggles he chronicles. And it is a powerful reminder that class struggle in America has always been pursued with ferocity and intensity. With all the book's strengths and weaknesses, outlined in a perceptive foreword by Jon Bekken, it remains a foundational text for those who wish to understand the world...and to change it." —Mark Leier, director of the Centre for Labour Studies at Simon Fraser University "Highly readable and packed with information, Dynamite is a brilliant introduction to the history of American class warfare. Essential reading itself, the book will inspire a new generation of activists to continue to seek out, and explore, working class organization and history." —Barry Pateman, Associate Editor, The Emma Goldman Papers "DYNAMITE! Of all the good stuff, that is the stuff! Stuff several pounds of this sublime stuff into an inch pipe...plug up both ends, insert a cap with a fuse attached, place this in the immediate vicinity of a lot of rich loafers who live by the sweat of other people's brows, and light the fuse. A most cheerful and gratifying result will follow. In giving dynamite to the downtrodden millions of the globe science has done its best work..." —from Alarm, 21 February 1885

Join us for an author reading about Somewhere Else, Jan Gunether Braun's new novel! About the book Jess is sixteen and aware that she is in an impossible position—being the homosexual daughter of the president of the Mennonite college. She hits the road in search of a language and the freedom to speak ... (more)it. On the train to Winnipeg she is found by Freya, Icelandic princess of her dreams. Halfsteinn, fisherman and expert in the fine art of hand-rolling cigarettes, enters Jess' life, helping her escape emotional captivity. Jess embraces pothead, videogame-playing housemates in the world away from her Mennonite being. Then, she meets Shea. Jess can barely utter the name—afraid of the word, the woman, the possibility, and her own past. About the Author Jan Guenther Braun is a writer who is also a member of a collectively owned organic grocery store. On the weekends she performs civil marriages. In the past year she was selected for the Manitoba Writers' Guild Sheldon Oberman Mentorship Program, won the Manitoba round of the CBC Poetry Face-Off and received a Manitoba Arts Council Emerging Writers' Grant. Jan is currently at work putting the finishing touches on her first novel which is tentatively entitled Somewhere Else which will be published by Arbeiter Ring Press (www.arbeiterring.com) in the spring of 2007. Originally from Saskatchewan, Jan grew up on a farm and moved to Winnipeg in 1997 earning a Bachelor of Theology from Canadian Mennonite Bible College in 2000 followed by a B.A., English Literature (Hons) from the University of Waterloo. In her work as an undergraduate in English Literature she focused on the transformative power of performance poetry within the context of communities in conflict. With a background in theology, farming, and performance poetry she integrates these themes in her writing through the lens of a queer Mennonite.