May 2007

Mark Bowden, "The Ploy"; Nadya Labi, "The Kingdom in the Closet"; David Samuels, "Let's Die Together"; Gershom Gorenberg, "The Minister for National Fears"; Andrew Bacevich on military activism; Caitlin Flanagan on abortion; Marc Ambinder on Hillary's husband; Michael Hirschorn hails reality TV; Virginia Postrel sees fashion as art; and much more.

The Atlantic - May 2007

Also in this issue

Letters to the editor

Features

The Ploy

The inside story of how the interrogators of Task Force 145 cracked Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s inner circle—without resorting to torture—and hunted down al-Qaeda’s man in Iraq

The Kingdom in the Closet

Sodomy is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, but gay life flourishes there. Why it is “easier to be gay than straight” in a society where everyone, homosexual and otherwise, lives in the closet

The Minister for National Fears

With the collapse of the center in Israeli politics, and the growing menace of Iran, Avigdor Lieberman’s extremist views may suddenly become mainstream.
Interviews: Gershom Gorenberg elucidates the startling politics of Avigdor Lieberman, a right-wing Israeli politician who has lately taken center stage

Let’s Die Together

Why is anonymous group suicide so popular in Japan?

Humor

This is the 15th in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine’s 150th anniversary. For the full text of these articles, visit www.theatlantic.com/ideastour.

Agenda

Warrior Politics

Why we should worry about the military's increased political assertiveness
Interviews: Andrew J. Bacevich, author of "Warrior Politics," talks about the increased politicization of the American military and its troubling potential consequences

Calendar

Immigrants on parade; Scottish pride; Korea's transgendered pop stars

Primary Sources

Presidential tea leaves; open-market elves; the fine art of sword-swallowing

Breaking Away

Serious trouble is brewing in Iraq’s one quiet corner: the Kurdish north.

Iran in Iraq

The Atlantic recently asked a group of foreign-policy authorities about Iran's role in the Iraq conflict

Running Mate

What role will Hillary’s husband play in the campaign?

When the Buck Stops

The age of the dollar has been great for America—but it may end soon.

Books

Stalin’s Gift

Stalin on the Eastern Front

The Sanguine Sex

Abortion and the bloodiness of being female

New Fiction

Acceptance, by Susan Coll

One Fraught Englishman

The turbulent life of Kingsley Amis

Travels With Their Aunts

Freeloading aesthetes and the women who kept them

Cover to Cover

A guide to additional releases: the history of the car bomb; Ralph Ellison; the annals of impotence; and more

The Skeleton Coast

A safari by air over Namibia’s haunting sands [Web only: "Above Namibia ." A narrated photo essay.]

The Supermarket of the Future

An exciting new Italian bazaar makes Whole Foods look like the A&P—and it’s coming to America.

Dress Sense

Why fashion deserves its place in art museums [Web only: Slideshow: "Museums in Fashion."]

Group Therapy

New programs ease the frustration of working with others online.

The Case for Reality TV

What the snobs don’t understand

Word Fugitives

Mockingbird blu; technological no-how


Video

Miami: The Next Big Start-Up City?

How the city became a center for innovation

Video

Video

A Brief History of Romantic Comedies

From The Atlantic's Chris Orr

Video

Life in 'the New Arctic'

A moving portrait of a fading landscape

Video

Video

The Rise of New York City

A fascinating look at Manhattan in the 1940s

Video

What Is Methane Hydrate?

"Flaming ice" is a vast natural energy source

Video

NASA's Time-Lapse of the Sun

Now with epic dubstep music

Video

Shaken Not Tuned: Cocktail Experiments

Can a tuning fork improve a cocktail?

Video

Video

Is He Cheating? A 1950s Guide

'That little blonde secretary from the office?’

Video

New Yorkers: Vintage Vacuum-Tube Amps

Risking electric shock to restore old amplifiers

Video

The DIY Piano-Bicycle

Everybody needs a hobby

Video

What Does It Take to Make Real Craft Gin?

Tour the Green Hat Gin distillery

Video

Letter From the Editor

The June 2013 issue

Video

What Straights Can Learn From Same-Sex Couples

New insight from decades of research

Video

The End of the Mall Rat

A tribute to that pillar of teen culture

Writers

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In Focus

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