World Wide: War!

This teensy brownish zine contains a series of extracts from a now-defunct weekly digest called “World Wide,” which mostly reprinted articles from newspapers around the world. According to the introduction, several volumes relating to different years have already been created, but this is volume 14, from digest issues printed in 1914, following the assassination of Austria’s Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife. The result is a mini-compendium of historical events surrounding the murder, and the ensuing commencement of WWI, that oddly resemble the pro-war news stories we’re bombarded with these days. For all the high-school teachers reading this review: what an interesting and fun way to learn about history! The tiny book reminds me of a birthday gift I got as a child – five palm-sized books with a single fairytale in each that came with three fuzzy little bears. I slept with them under my pillow. (Emily Pohl-Weary)

history zine, $2, Time Machine Series, Louis Rastelli, L’Archive, box 1323, Place d’Armes, Montreal, QC, H2Y 3K2

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