A new issue of Catapult is out. From Revolution, Bob Avakian on how there is no "permanent necessity" for things to this way — a radically different and better world can be brought into being through revolution. More on The Brain and the Meaning of Life by Paul Thagard. Our glorious libraries civilise us all: Rowan Pelling defends the world of book-lovers, self-improvers, unfettered imaginations, armchair travellers and generally like-minded souls. From Reconstruction, Darren Jorgensen on the mediocrity of Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction. So far this fiscal year, the federal government is $1 trillion in the red — why this is good news. For the first installment of AK Press's Back Issues, here are two publications archived at the Brown University Library Center for Digital Initiatives: Radical America and Cultural Correspondence. A lively new account of the rebellion led by Spartacus by Peter Stothard reminds reviewer Michael Korda of just how many parallels there are with our own time. Bodybuilders were once movie stars, now they're Jersey Shore punchlines — why did we stop loving brawn? Stop eating meat, save the environment, so the argument goes — but what would really happen if we all went cold turkey? From Amazon's Omnivoracious blog, Mari Malcolm on bookcraft vs. books. A review essay on four books that attempt to explain the attraction of climbing mountains. The insidious cult of celebrity: Why do we worship the people we see in our culture?
