APRIL 1999 | Volume 283 No. 4   Small-Town Cop (This article is no longer available online.) This is the story of Tom O'Connor, a police officer patrolling the streets of the town where he was born and raised. And it is the story of a practical kind of wisdom, one that applies the law by turns firmly and loosely, and helps to make civilized life possible. by Tracy Kidder Web-Only: The Architecture of Daily Life An Atlantic Unbound interview with Tracy Kidder. Living in Candlestick Park Cold War-era analyses of the international situation were often concerned with how the "great game" of foreign policy should be played. The next century's issue: not the rules of engagement but whether the playing field itself will remain intact. by John Lewis Gaddis Confucius and the Scholars New research has raised intriguing questions: Did Confucius actually teach the ethical principles that bear his name -- or is "Confucianism" in fact a later, Western concoction? Did the Chinese sage even exist? by Charlotte Allen   Reports Notes & Comment: If the Shoe Fits How crisp are your utterances? What's the cost of being a nerd? Will you end up going to hell? Mathematical formulas now seem to exist for everything. by Cullen Murphy Foreign Affairs: Ambivalent Autonomy After seven centuries of English rule the people of Wales were recently given the chance to claim a measure of self-government. A lot of them don't want it. by Pamela Petro Technology: The Virus Wars Almost everyone who uses a computer has had to ward off infection by computer viruses. Now, for the first time, research holds out the promise of effective antibodies. by Robert Buderi Fiction & Poetry Piano A poem by Stanley Plumly Woman, Why Are You Weeping? A poem by Jane Kenyon Afternoon of the Sassanoa A short story by Jason Brown Lost Parrot A poem by Susan Mitchell The seahorse symbol indicates that an article is supplemented with audio, an author interview, or other Web-only sidebar. Browse and search The Atlantic's online archive. Arts & Leisure Travel: Touring Turin People often think of Milan as the best point of access to stylish, cosmopolitan northern Italy. Wrong. by Corby Kummer Music: Forget the Callas Legend Decades of pungent anecdotes have created a powerful -- and misleading -- public image of Maria Callas. by Matthew Gurewitsch Books Against Inequality The Stakeholder Society, by Bruce Ackerman and Anne Alstott by Jack Beatty Poet of the Factory Floor The Mercy: Poems, by Philip Levine by Peter Davison Web-Only: A Useful Poetry An Atlantic Unbound interview with Philip Levine. Brief Reviews by Phoebe-Lou Adams Other Departments 77 North Washington Street Contributors Letters (Send a letter to the editor.) The April Almanac The Puzzler by Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon Word Watch by Anne H. Soukhanov All material copyright © 1999 by The Atlantic Monthly Company. All rights reserved.