The Monster of Florence
A true crime story
Mary Anne Weaver, "Inventing Al-Zarqawi"; Douglas Preston, "The Monster of Florence"; Alissa Quart, "Extreme Parenting"; Nadya Labi, "Jihad 2.0"; Jonathan Rauch on containing Iran; Corby Kummer on organic online shopping; Virginia Postrel on massage; and much more.
A true crime story
How a video-store clerk and small-time crook reinvented himself as America’s nemesis in Iraq
With the loss of training camps in Afghanistan, terrorists have turned to the Internet to find and train recruits. The story of one pioneer of this effort—the enigmatic “Irhabi 007”—shows how
Does the Baby Genius Edutainment Complex enrich your child’s mind—or stifle it?
This is the sixth in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine’s 150th anniversary. This installment is introduced by James Fallows, a national correspondent for The Atlantic
Cold War strategies might help us handle Tehran’s nuclear ambitions
Could the interior West—long seen as an archetypal red region—be turning blue? The fate of the Republican Party may hinge on the answer
When pop stars get religion
Can Harold Ford become the first black senator from the old Confederacy since Reconstruction?
What a lousy time for the leaders of the world’s economic powerhouses to be gripped by political weakness
Why Supreme Court justices have more free time than ever—and why it should be taken away
Pakistan’s out-of-control army; the sorry (but egalitarian) state of American health care; the happiness census
Phaidon Design Classics; A Dash of Daring, by Penelope Rowlands; Yellowstone Command, by Jerome A. Greene
A story of American women in financial jeopardy
Digging to America, by Anne Tyler
What some notables are stacking on their beach blankets this year
Under the caked muck of theocracy in today’s Iran, ancient and lovely literary springs still bubble
Stoner, by John Williams
A guide to additional releases
Six days in five airports—a survivor’s guide
The future of shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables
Two new elegantly conceived programs help you unjam your digital life
How massage went from the strip club to the strip mall
Racket technology saved tennis, and Roger Federer is proof
Vilgot Sjöman (1924–2006)
A few choice wines for summer, and where to find them