THE ATLANTIC | Volume 298 No. 3 | October 2006

Articles with headlines in gray are unavailable online.

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Atlantic cover Calendar

Letters to the Editor

The Agenda
COMMENT  Unwinding Bush  How long will it take to fix his mistakes?
by Jonathan Rauch

FIRST PRINCIPLES  The Fruitful Lie  Trade agreements have always been greased by deception about who benefits. Now they’re failing because leaders have come to believe their own lies
by Clive Crook

THE LIST  Antique Autocrats
by Matthew Quirk

THE NATION IN NUMBERS  Where the Brains Are  America’s educated elite is clustering in a few cities— and leaving the rest of the country behind
by Richard Florida

WASHINGTON  The Fight to Lose Congress  Some political strategists are hoping for defeat in November
by Chuck Todd

POLL  War in Lebanon  The Atlantic recently asked a group of foreign-policy authorities about the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah

Primary Sources  Unrest in China; on parking and national character; the importance of being squiggly; our overconfident youth

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When North Korea Falls
The furor over Kim Jong Il’s missile tests and nuclear brinksmanship obscures the real threat: the prospect of North Korea’s catastrophic collapse. How the regime ends could determine the balance of power in Asia for decades. The likely winner? China
by Robert D. Kaplan

Running for Their Lives
Neglected children, hellish commutes, shrill coworkers, and first pitches at Little League games— why it’s no picnic to be a moderate in the House of Representatives
by Juliet Eilperin

Prophetic Justice
The United States is now prosecuting suspected terrorists on the basis of their intentions, not just their actions. When it comes to Islam, are American jurors equipped to understand if words and beliefs are truly dangerous?
by Amy Waldman
INTERVIEWS  Islam on Trial?
The author of "Prophetic Justice" discusses the murky business of prosecuting would-be terrorists on the basis of their beliefs.
by Abigail Cutler [Web only]
The Road to Haditha
How did the heroes of Fallujah come to kill civilians in Haditha? A Vietnam veteran who witnessed the battle of Fallujah says it's too soon to judge the marines—but not the high command
by Bing West

The House Belongs to Its Dweller
A portrait of Libya
Photographs by Veronika Lukasova

The Aspen Ideas Festival
excerpts from this year's discussions

150 YEARS OF THE ATLANTIC  Politics
This is the ninth in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine’s 150th anniversary. This installment is introduced by James Bennet, the editor of The Atlantic.

POETRY  Strange Tales of the Kingdom of Fife
[with audio]
by Mark Jarman

POETRY  Half Moon, Small Cloud
by John Updike

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The Critics
EDITOR’S CHOICE  The Path of Least Resistance
What to read this month
by Benjamin Schwarz

New Fiction
After This, by Alice McDermott
by Joseph O’Neill

The Drama of the Gifted Parent
Hey! Leave those kids alone!
by Sandra Tsing Loh
INTERVIEWS  Stop the Insanity!
Sandra Tsing-Loh describes the elite, utopian island of urban private education—and explains why she opted to steer clear of it
by Jennie Rothenberg [Web only]
New Fiction
by Scott Prater

A Close Read
Breakable You, by Brian Morton
by Christina Schwarz

READING LIST  Zoologically Correct
A wisecracking playboy gets friendly with bunnies, birds, even dogs
by Bill Maher

New Fiction
The Keep, by Jennifer Egan
by Joseph O’Neill

Poison Pen
The exceptional insouciance of Jessica Mitford
by Christopher Hitchens

THE CRITICS  Cover to Cover
A guide to additional releases
by Benjamin Healy and Benjamin Schwarz

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Pursuits and Retreats
TRAVELS  Escape to Old Russia
The Golden Ring, northeast of Moscow, offers a respite from the capital and an immersion in the past
by Jeffrey Tayler

FOOD  Salmon Time
Our correspondent ventures to Alaska to learn when to eat wild salmon—and how to find it even when it’s not in season
by Corby Kummer

COMMERCE AND CULTURE  Superhero Worship
Once the province of Garbo and Astaire, movie glamour now comes from Superman, Spider-Man, and Storm.
by Virginia Postrel

TECHNOLOGY  Artificial Intelligentsia
How the Internet is fitting its users with mental eyeglasses— and letting them see new vistas of knowledge in the process
by James Fallows

POST MORTEM  Making Sinatra Sinatra
Bill Miller (1915–2006)
by Mark Steyn
THE PUZZLER  Box Scores
by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon [Web only]
Word Fugitives
by Barbara Wallraff