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CalendarLetters to the Editor
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
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 Road to Haditha
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]
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
A poem
by John Updike
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!New Fiction
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]
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
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 ScoresWord Fugitives
by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon [Web only]
by Barbara Wallraff