The Future of the American Idea
As The Atlantic celebrates its 150th anniversary, scholars, novelists, politicians, artists, and others look ahead to the future of the American idea
The Atlantic's 150th anniversary issue—prominent contributors weigh in on the future of the American idea; Walter Kirn on the scourge of multitasking; Paul Elie on the misuses of Niebuhr; P.J. O'Rourke sings of fizzy fluid retention; James Fallows on the view of America from Abroad; Hitchens on Bellow; Caitlin Flanagan dismisses Hillary Clinton; and much more.
As The Atlantic celebrates its 150th anniversary, scholars, novelists, politicians, artists, and others look ahead to the future of the American idea
Neuroscience is confirming what we all suspect: Multitasking is dumbing us down and driving us crazy. One man’s odyssey through the nightmare of infinite connectivity
In the debate over the war on terror (and just about everything else, too), neocons and liberals, theocons and Christian pacifists, idealists and realists have all called upon the writings of the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. What does the promiscuous invocation of his work tell us about the man—and about his would-be acolytes?
The decline of spinsters? Smoke-free living? Drawing on a vast new statistical compendium, our commentator unearths, examines, and extrapolates the hidden challenges to America.
Hulls in the water could soon displace boots on the ground as the most important military catchphrase of our time. But our Navy is stretched thin. How we manage dwindling naval resources will go a long way toward determining our future standing in the world.
What living in England, Japan, and China has taught one American about the character of his own country
Editor’s Choice: Moviemaking in Hollywood’s classical period was colossally complex, backbreakingly difficult, obscenely expensive—and it almost always failed.
One woman’s estrangement from Hillary Rodham Clinton
Saul Bellow’s genius lay in combining the high and the low, the reflective and the active, the ivory tower and the ghetto.
A guide to additional releases
Mint juleps and Magic Fingers on the Mississippi [Web only: Video: Mississippi Melodies]
A cult destination in London has revolutionized cheesemaking, winning converts as far afield as Vermont.
Real estate may be as important as religion in explaining the infamous gap between red and blue states.
Can celebrities survive the age of too much information?
By the pocketbook; "etymologic" debates
A poem