What Makes Us Happy?
An inside look at an unprecedented seven-decade study of a group of Harvard men suggests that one thing, above all, truly makes a difference.
June 2009
In This Issue
Joshua Wolf Shenk reveals the secret of happiness; Harris Collingwood questions whether CEOs matter; Douglas Foster profiles Jacob Zuma; James Parker explores the SpongeBob phenomenon; Christopher Hitchens rereads Hemingway; Joseph O'Neill unearths the real Flannery O'Connor; and much more.
Features
Do CEOs Matter?
Apple’s stock rises and falls with the faintest rumors about Steve Jobs's health. But how much influence do CEOs really have?
Hope Floats
As the recession blows a gale, the world’s most expensive cruise ship nears completion.
Fashion in Dark Times
As the ever-frivolous industry enters a new era, customers are thinking more—a prospect that thrills the best designers
Jacob’s Ladder
Is South Africa's next president a savior, a criminal, a Marxist revolutionary—or all of the above?
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Michael Nichols/National Geographic Stock As Go the Hippos …
Under the weight of Congo’s civil war, an ecosystem collapses.
Dog Bites Bug
How man’s best friend can help him evict his nastiest bedmate
From Russia, With Self-Loathing
Meet Agniya Kuznetsova, the It Girl for a poorer, darker, angrier Russia.
Cragi Phillips American Sushi
U.S. chefs are bringing Japan’s trademark cuisine back to its roots.
David C. Sampson Cold Fusion
Ice—the most neglected of cocktail ingredients—can ruin a drink or make it come alive.
St. John Moore Beijing’s Almost-Perfect Hotel
The Opposite House is an idealistic island in a country that rarely worries about details
Books
Lebrecht Authors Hemingway's Libidinous Feast
In a restored edition of a great classic, sexual anxiety looms large.
Marc Yankus Touched by Evil
The real spiritual drama in Flannery O’Connor’s fiction was even darker than the one she acknowledged.
Endangered Species: Black Rhinoceros 1983: Collection of the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Courtesy Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Newy York; 2009, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/ARS, New York Cover to Cover
Reconsider the rhino; Nightingale unveiled; admissions of guilt; and more
Columns
Harry Campbell Sink and Swim
Bankruptcy helps the undeserving—and that’s the way it should be.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images SpongeBob's Golden Dream
The mysterious allure of the fry cook from Bikini Bottom
Also in this issue
Jason Ford/Heart Agency What's Your Problem?
Accept succession, and other advice
Other articles in this issue
Quick Study
Speaking richly; mobster movies
