December 1989
In This Issue
Explore the December 1989 print edition below. Or to discover more writing from the pages of The Atlantic, browse the full archive.
Articles
Can We Be Good Without God?
On the political meaning of Christianity
Plunge Right In: Exhilarating Caribbean Vacations by the Sea, and in It
The Voices of Kurt Weill: New Recordings and Reissued Classics Speak to a Modern Audience
Learning by Story
A Symbol of the Eighties
Thunder at Twilight
Easter Island: The Mystery Solved
A Wild Sheep Chase
The Hustons
The Art of Adventure
Acrostic No. 53
The Puzzler
Word Watch
Here are a few of the words being tracked by the editors of The American Heritage Dictionary, published by Houghton Mifflin. A new word that exhibits sustained use may eventually make its way into the dictionary. The information below represents the first stage of research, not the final product.
He December Almanac
Notes: The Future of Pennies
An exchange
Burma: Life in the Hills
Students who fled the brutal crackdown on prodemocracy demonstrations last year have found a refuge of sorts among Burma’s ethnic insurgents
The Origins of the Cowboy Boot
Getting Along With Japan
Instead of nagging the Japanese to change their society and economy, we should protect our own interests by acting on the new realities of international trade
745 Boylston Street
Contributors
The Annulment for My Nephew
The Announcement
Rubbish!
An archaeologist who excavates landfills believes that our thinking about garbage has been distorted by powerful myths—for example, that we’re producing more of it per person than ever, that plastic is a big problem, and that paper biodegrades rapidly in landfills
