Reading, Writing, Resurrection
Katrina destroyed a failing school system and made New Orleans a laboratory for education. Can reformers transcend the damage of the flood—and of history?
January/February 2007
In This Issue
Carl M. Cannon, "Untruth and Consequences"; Bing West, "Streetwise"; Amy Waldman, "Reading, Writing, Resurrection"; Jeffrey Rosen on Chief Justice John Roberts; Joshua Green on Unity08; Virginia Postrel on airline glamor, Jon Zobenica on Girlie Mags; P.J. O'Rourke follows the tractors; Michael Hirschorn has a music-geek epiphany; Robert Kaplan on the lessons of Herodotus; and much more.
State of the Union
Roberts's Rules
Chief Justice John Roberts says that if the Supreme Court is to maintain legitimacy, its justices must start acting more like colleagues and less like prima donnas.
Surprise Party
Dismayed by the system they helped to create, some veteran political strategists are out to create a better choice in 2008.
The God of Small Things
Decoding genomes wasn't enough. Now Craig Venter wants to end our oil addiction.
Mapping Innovation
To find the next great ideas, follow the tractors, tourists, and drinkers.
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Untruth and Consequences
From Washington to FDR to Nixon, presidents have always lied. Here’s what makes George W. Bush different.
Streetwise
Whether we ultimately stay or go, we need to fix Iraq's policing problems. An expert explains how.
A Historian For Our Time
Thucydides may have been more trustworthy, but Herodotus would have been more fun to share a wineskin with—and is a far better guide to the present.
Science
Vintage Atlantic writings on science by Asa Gray, Werner Heisenberg, James Watson, and others.
Agenda
A War to Start All Wars
The Middle East looks like Europe circa World War I.
The Rancor Dividend
The new Democratic Congress just might help the White House mend the country’s broken fiscal policy.
Closing the God Gap
How a pair of Democratic strategists are helping candidates talk about their faith
Will Moderation Win in 2008?
The Atlantic recently asked a group of political insiders—selected for their campaign experience, political knowledge, and ties to key voting blocs—about the strength of the religious right and the antiwar left.
Opting for Wit Over Sincerity
Betty Comden (1917–2006)
Books
Becoming Cary Grant
What to read this month
Jae Hong / AP Are We Not Men?
Down the ladder from Playboy to Maxim
Imperial Follies
In 1956, the British stumbled in Suez, and the Soviets crushed the Hungarian uprising—revealing the fatal flaws of modern empire.
Cover to Cover
A guide to additional releases
Map Quest
A journey through Alsace-Lorraine to the town that gave America its name
Northern Comfort
The best way to make rice pudding is always your grandmother’s.
Up, Up, and Away
Today, air travel is just another form of mass transit. Is there any going back to the glamorous days of yore?
Tag Teams
Social-search programs like Flickr and del.icio.us guide your Web browsing toward places you probably want to go.
The Digital-Music Mosh Pit
A new wave of Web innovation is finally challenging Steve Jobs’s empire of cool.
Also in this issue
Poetry
The Wave-Maker
[with audio]
Cimicifuga
[with audio]
