It would require a very smart, dedicated man with a lot of time on his hands to produce a series like this - but J. Gerlach decided to do just that. A series of zines about history the way textbooks never told it; but should have. Unabridged history not edited to be appropriate for the classroom. This issue tackles Christopher Columbus and his "discovery" of America. While there is a lot to tell and the difficulty of a project like this is making sure people don't feel like they are back in a boring classroom, J. does a good job of mixing it up by including increasingly funnier comics from Cindy Crabb along the way that illustrate the story! What were Columbus' true motives? Was he really a lost idiot? How did he treat the people living already in North America? Is it incredibly racist to say that Columbus discovered a land where people already lived? Find out the answers to these and more by reading up on all the things you missed out on the first time around!

J. Gerlach is working on something he calls the simple history series-a set of zines, each one focusing on a different widely misunderstood event in history. We already carry his zine about Columbus, and now we've picked up his newest one, an explanation of the Crusades. In general, the Crusades were Christian raids on Arab lands, conducted with the purpose of "reclaiming their Christian Holy Land." These raids lasted for 134 years! It's a vital piece of history to help understand the clashes between Christianity and Islam today, and why there is ongoing animosity on both sides. It's really easy to read and worth your time. If we do not learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat the past!

This is the third installment in the Simple History Series that we've picked up to distro and it's just as informative and cool as the other two (about Columbus and the Crusades). The Spanish American War was fought in 1898 and marked the start of the U.S.'s infatuation with expansion in earnest. Not content with the land that had been stolen to comprise America thusfar, it was decided that Spain's island holdings were desirable and would be conquered. This included the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico, as well as Guam and the Philippines. This zine helps explain how these islands became US territories and how that changed completely the U.S.'s role in world affairs. To fully understand the roots of American imperialism, it's essential to read-up on the Spanish-American War.