Awake!
Awake! is a general-interest magazine published by Jehovah's Witnesses.
The magazine's predecessor, first published in 1919 by International Bible Students (an earlier name of Jehovah's Witnesses), was entitled The Golden Age. From 1937 it was called Consolation. (In some countries it was also known as New World for a while.) In 1946 the present magazine called by the name Awake! was released.
Whereas its companion magazine The Watchtower focuses mostly on Bible study and doctrine, Awake! has a wider scope, publishing articles on science, nature and geography, usually with a religious slant.
Other features in the magazine include Bible crosswords or quizzes; "The Bible's Viewpoint," a column applying the Bible to current issues; "Young People Ask,", a column giving Bible-based advice aimed at teens and young-adults; "Watching the World," a selection of single-paragraph news items from a variety of sources; and "From Our Readers", a selection of letters commenting on previous Awake! articles.
Awake!, published monthly, has 32 pages and is printed in full color. As of the start of 2006, it is available in 82 different languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Zulu with a total worldwide circulation of 32.4 million. It is also available, in selected languages, in audio cassette and compact disc (audio and MP3) formats.
Awake!, along with The Watchtower, was sold in the United States until March 1, 1990, when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled religious literature being sold was subject to taxation. (Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. California Board of Equalization, 493 U.S. 378) The sale of Witness literature was gradually phased out throughout the world between 1990 and 2000. Awake! is now distributed free of charge everywhere, although voluntary donations are accepted to support the magazine's further distribution.