May 1990
In This Issue
Explore the May 1990 print edition below. Or to discover more writing from the pages of The Atlantic, browse the full archive.
Articles
Nothing in Moderation
We as Americans today have more rights than ever, yet by and large we feel more politically powerless
Germany: The Character Issue
Can the Germans get it right this time?
Footprints of the Hapsburgs: Tracing Love and Empire in Vienna, Prague, and Budapest
Before the First Sip: How to Start a Good Cup of Coffee
How the Bomb Was Kept From Hitler
My Life in Three Acts
Soup of the Day
Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life
Lakota Woman
Chromos
The Quest for El Cid
The Puzzler
Word Histories: Etymologies Derived From the Files of the Dictionary of American Regional English
The May Almanac
Notes: The 40th Parallel
Environment: Rescuing Oily Birds
Oil spills kill thousands of seabirds, but some survive—with a lot of help
745 Boylston Street
Contributors
Tan
Coping With Victory
Now that the United States and its allies have prevailed in the Cold War, the West must think seriously—and quickly—about how to avoid squandering the opportunities at hand
Grace
Quartet: Four New Voices in American Fiction
Things Not Seen
He loved his wife and daughter, but they were slipping away, captives of memory and apprehension
What Means Switch
What can a polite Chinese girl do about a Japanese boyfriend who knows judo but not English?
Two More Days
Alicia and Brian would soon be married—if she could overcome some personal misgivings about the wisdom of that plan
The Swan
Their parents had problems to work on, and needed to be alone. Now Benjamin and his brother were immersed in a solitude of their own
