Aeschylus wrote, “The tenth year it is since Priam’s high / Adversary, Menelaus the king / And Agamemnon, the double-throned and sceptred / Yoke of the sons of Atreus / … On a mission of war / Their hearts howling in boundless bloodlust…” Historians and literati have for ages battled over whether the Trojan war was myth or truth.

Seth McEvoy in his ForeSight article, “The Myths of Nations: History Books Seek Truth,” notes that history at its best is mainly a record of nations, their creation and preservation. He writes, “Think of the crimes committed in the name of land acquisition, the fanatical quests for power at any cost.” McEvoy covers subjects such as nationalism and colonialism, concluding that personalities both create history as well as write about it, like Plutarch chronicling the characters of men in context.

Memoir is history of the mind. Todd Mercer in his ForeSight feature, “Time Out of Mind,” indicates the expansive nature of the genre: “The new generation of memoirs fans out to cover a broader variety of situations and life challenges.” The trend is revelatory frankness in the areas of the perennial themes of survival and accomplishment.

With the U.S. Congress bombing Bush for his bombast and his retaliatory hectoring, the Iraq war remains the target of American politics, indicates Karl Helicher in his ForeSight article, “A Nation on the Edge: Politics in the Late Bush Era.” Helicher’s theme is the current American political scene, and notes lessons from history about menacing men and marching myrmidons.

Also included in this issue is the first appearance of Spirit, a special Mind/Body/Spirit supplement. Spirit provides a survey of classic and new titles about New Age movements, including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Paganism.

New to ForeWord magazine is Heather Shaw, author and independent publisher, as editor in chief. She will direct the editorial of both the print version of the magazine as well as the Web site. In addition, she will launch ForeWord’s SoundOff! starting in September—a regular blog space for publishers, librarians, and readers to discuss current issues that can inspire as well as provoke conversation.

Wars and histories are what authors are writing about as well as histories of the mind, and ForeWord, like a Trojan Horse, reveals surprises from independent publishers.

Policy Note: As ForeWord continues championing the small publisher – the magazine has been around the same length of time as the Trojan war was fought -- a number of ForeWord reviewers have been published by indies. Recently, one librarian asked about our policy concerning reviewing books written by ForeWord reviewers. In this delicate matter the book is sent without any mention of certain facts to a reliable reviewer who is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, an organization of nearly 700 active reviewers who are interested in honoring quality writing.