"The Atlantic Monthly is an American tradition; since 1857 it has helped to shape the American mind and conscience," senior editor Jack Beatty explains. "We are proud of that tradition. It is the tradition of excellence for which we were awarded the National Magazine Award for General Excellence. It is the tie that binds us to our past. It is a standard we won't betray."
Beatty joined The Atlantic Monthly as a senior editor in September of 1983, having previously worked as a book reviewer at Newsweek and as the literary editor of The New Republic.
Born, raised, and educated in Boston, Beatty wrote a best-selling biography of James Michael Curley, the Massachusetts congressman and governor and Boston mayor, which Addison-Wesley published in 1992 to enthusiastic reviews. The Washington Post said, "The Rascal King is an exemplary political biography. It is thorough, balanced, reflective, and gracefully written." The Chicago Sun-Times called it a ". . . beautifully written, richly detailed, vibrant biography." The book was nominated for a National Book Critics' Circle award.
His 1993 contribution to The Atlantic Monthly's Travel pages, "The Bounteous Berkshires," earned these words of praise from The Washington Post: "The best travel writers make you want to travel with them. I, for instance, would like to travel somewhere with Jack Beatty, having read his superb account of a cultural journey to the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts." Beatty is also the author of The World According to Peter Drucker, published in 1998 by The Free Press and called "a fine intellectual portrait" by Michael Lewis in the New York Times Book Review.
-
Bush’s Monica Moment
Clinton's affair with Monica called his character into question; Bush's true colors emerged on 9/11
-
History’s Fools
In the wake of Iraq, the term "neo-conservative" may come to mean "dangerous innocence about world realities"
-
The Party of the People
The Republicans, unlike the Democrats, have delivered what their constituency wants
-
The Faith-Based Presidency
You can question Bush's veracity, his grip on reality, and the rationality of his policies, but not his faith
-
Free Trade vs. Good Jobs
What led America's early leaders to break the law of free trade? Should we break it again?
-
The Real Real Deal
While John Kerry suffers from "terminal Senatitis," John Edwards exudes life and optimism
-
President Coolidge's Burden
A recent biography places Coolidge's failed presidency in the context of the deep depression he fell into after the death of his son
-
Who Can Beat George W. Bush?
The pundits are whispering that either Dean or Gephardt is likely to be the Democratic nominee. Which one of them can win?
-
The Friedman Principle
The influential New York Times columnist's vision of spreading democracy through the Arab world is this era's domino theory—and it is just as misguided
-
"A Miserable Failure"
Will Bush be re-elected? Only if voters wittingly ignore his long list of failures while in office
-
The One-Term Tradition
Bush should not be overly sanguine about his chances for re-election
-
The War After the War
The attack on the UN will slow our efforts to rebuild Iraq—and further undermine our legitimacy there
-
When the Sun Never Sets
The nefarious effects of Bush's latest tax cut will continue on, and on, and on
-
Fatal Vision
Can we control the forces of religion unleashed by the war in Iraq?
-
A Country of Fear
Iraq will be better off after the war. But will America?
-
In the Name of God
Bush's rhetoric suggests that he feels God has chosen him to lead the U.S. against "Evil." Is that why Bush is dragging us into an unprovoked war?
-
The Road Better Not Taken
A war against Iraq could be the most catastrophic blunder in U.S. history
-
The Track to Modernity
In a century of riotous change, the railroad's standardization of time stood out as a challenge to both nature and democracy -
The Temptation of War
A new memoir by Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers, warns that Presidents will do anything to avoid losing wars
-
On the Brink
The need for fundamental changes in politics and policy—and fast