Every review in this book first appeared in Counterpunch magazine. The story they tell is a history of the world. The books are mostly non-fiction—history, political analysis, books about music and its social meanings, theory, and biography. Topics range from the music and politics of Bob Dylan to the life of Kwame Toure, the nature of twenty-first century imperialism to the capitalist turn in China, the counterculture of the Long Sixties and discussions of works by Thomas Pynchon, Marc Estrin and Ishmael Reed. May this book serve as an introduction to the books reviewed.