The Monster of Florence
A true crime story
July/August 2006
In This Issue
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.
Features
The Short, Violent Life of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
How a video-store clerk and small-time crook reinvented himself as America’s nemesis in Iraq
Jihad 2.0
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
Extreme Parenting
Does the Baby Genius Edutainment Complex enrich your child’s mind—or stifle it?
Idealism & Practicality
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
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Containing Iran
Cold War strategies might help us handle Tehran’s nuclear ambitions
Purple Mountains
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
Leaps of Faith
When pop stars get religion
Ford’s Theater
Can Harold Ford become the first black senator from the old Confederacy since Reconstruction?
A Confederacy Of Eunuchs
What a lousy time for the leaders of the world’s economic powerhouses to be gripped by political weakness
Of Clerks and Perks
Why Supreme Court justices have more free time than ever—and why it should be taken away
Primary Sources
Pakistan’s out-of-control army; the sorry (but egalitarian) state of American health care; the happiness census
Books
Chairs, Rag Mags, Indian Wars
Phaidon Design Classics; A Dash of Daring, by Penelope Rowlands; Yellowstone Command, by Jerome A. Greene
Cheap Thrills
A story of American women in financial jeopardy
New Fiction
Digging to America, by Anne Tyler
Summer Reading
What some notables are stacking on their beach blankets this year
The Persian Version
Under the caked muck of theocracy in today’s Iran, ancient and lovely literary springs still bubble
A Close Read
Stoner, by John Williams
Cover to Cover
A guide to additional releases
Pursuits
Greetings from Airworld!
Six days in five airports—a survivor’s guide
Deliverance
The future of shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables
The Electric Mind Meld
Two new elegantly conceived programs help you unjam your digital life
The Next Starbucks?
How massage went from the strip club to the strip mall
Spin Doctors
Racket technology saved tennis, and Roger Federer is proof
The Swedes’ Swingingest Swinger
Vilgot Sjöman (1924–2006)
Also in this issue
Other articles in this issue
Zins Online
A few choice wines for summer, and where to find them
