At long last it's the new issue of Microcosm's continuing CIA zine series! For the tenth anniversary issue, we get an intimate, never-seen-before examination of the life and death of Lee Harvey Oswald. Where other would-be Oswald biographies focus on the immediate events leading up to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, here we have a full and panoramic look at Oswald's short, conflicted, adventure-filled life. Using exclusive info and newly declassified documents, CIAMSFU #6 puts into perspective a richly-detailed version of the Oswald story, from birth in 1939 to his historic televised assassination.

Libraries eager to serve the underserved teen-to-twenty-year-old market can make the library a cool place to hang out. All it takes are zines, according to the author, young adult librarian Julie Bartel. Zines and alternative press materials provide a unique bridge to appeal to disenfranchised youth, alienated by current collections. For librarians unfamiliar with the territory, or anxious to broaden their collection, veteran zinester Bartel establishes the context, history, and philosophy of zines, then ushers readers through an easy, do-it-yourself guide to creating a zine collection, including both print and electronic zines. While zines have their unique culture, they are also important within broader discussions of intellectual freedom and the Library Bill of Rights. Teen and young adult librarians, high school media specialists, and academic, reference, and adult services librarians will uncover answers to questions aboutthis new and growing literary genre: What is a zine and how does a library zine collection work? What are the pros and cons of having a zine collection in the library? When promoting zines, what appeals to patrons and non-library users alike? What is the best way to catalog and display? Where can libraries get zines and how much do they cost? Bartel shares these lessons and more from a major urban library zine collection, as well as a comprehensive directory of zine resources in this one-stop, one-of-a-kind guide.

The history of the first ten years of Microcosm Publishing, told in graphic detail! For the first time ever, read about how we got to where we are today through working long hours at low (or no) pay! Join us on our journey through starting out in a bedroom, putting out records, growing, moving to Portland, publishing books, growing, moving into an office in Liberty Hall, amassing more zines than anyone could ever konw what to do with, and more. A fun foray into getting inspiration and perspective for making your own projects.

These five case studies offer a chilling glimpse into the negligence, greed, murder, and at times comical disorganization behind some of the CIA's most controversial secret operations. Science fiction could not have invented the influence the CIA had in the assassination of Martin Luther King. Jr, the AIDS virus, the killing of the leader of the Puerto Rican independence movement, the PATRIOT act, and the Iran-Contra affair. Smith makes radical claims, but instead of coming across as a raving conspiracy theorist he uses facts to write a believable, accessible alternative to mainstream histories that helps readers to contextualize current events and the anti-American backlash.

In perhaps his most important literary feat, Norman Mailer fashions an unprecedented portrait of one of the great villains—and enigmas—in United States history. Here is Lee Harvey Oswald—his family background, troubled marriage, controversial journey to Russia, and return to an “America [waiting] for him like an angry relative whose eyes glare in the heat.” Based on KGB and FBI transcripts, government reports, letters and diaries, and Mailer’s own international research, this is an epic account of a man whose cunning, duplicity, and self-invention were both at home in and at odds with the country he forever altered. Praise for Oswald’s Tale “America’s largest mystery has found its greatest interpreter.”—The Washington Post Book World “Mailer is fierce, courageous, and reckless and nearly everything he writes has sections of headlong brilliance. . . . From the American master conjurer of dark and swirling purpose, a moving reflection.”—Robert Stone, The New York Review of Books “A narrative of tremendous energy and panache; the author at the top of his form.”—Christopher Hitchens, Financial Times “The performance of an author relishing the force and reach of his own acuity.”—Martin Amis, The Sunday Times (London) Praise for Norman Mailer “[Norman Mailer] loomed over American letters longer and larger than any other writer of his generation.”—The New York Times “A writer of the greatest and most reckless talent.”—The New Yorker “Mailer is indispensable, an American treasure.”—The Washington Post “A devastatingly alive and original creative mind.”—Life “Mailer is fierce, courageous, and reckless and nearly everything he writes has sections of headlong brilliance.”—The New York Review of Books “The largest mind and imagination [in modern] American literature . . . Unlike just about every American writer since Henry James, Mailer has managed to grow and become richer in wisdom with each new book.”—Chicago Tribune “Mailer is a master of his craft. His language carries you through the story like a leaf on a stream.”—The Cincinnati Post