CURRENT ISSUE
July 2005
Features
Preservation or Development at Morris Island?
On this site where the nation's legendary African-American fighting force proved its valor in the Civil War, a housing development ignited a debate
Saving Mali's Migratory Elephants
A new photo library of West Africa's desert elephants is helping researchers track the dwindling herd and protect their imperiled migration routes.
Syria at a Crossroads
Following a humbling retreat from Lebanon and increasingly at odds with the U.S., the proud Arab nation finds itself at a critical juncture
Through Our Readers' Eyes
SMITHSONIAN's second annual photo contest generates more than 30,000 entries
The Real Robinson Crusoe
He was a pirate, a hothead and a lout, but castaway Alexander Selkirkthe author's ancestor inspired one of the greatest yarns in literature
Ripped from the Walls (and the Headlines)
Fifteen years after the greatest art theft in modern history the mystery may be unraveling
Departments
Paris, Mon Amour
For photographer Robert Doisneau, finding an openly affectionate couple in the City of Light was as easy as falling in love
Going for the Gold
A pop-music confection known as The Village People belted out disco hits in the 1970s that morphed into American standards
Cowboys and Artists
Each summer models decked out in period dress give artists a picture of life in the Wild West
Board Rooms
Near Portland, Oregon, archaeologists and Indians have built an authentic Chinookan plankhouse like those Lewis and Clark saw
Tocqueville's America
The French author's piquant observations on American gumption and political hypocrisy sound remarkably contemporary 200 years after his birth
From the Secretary: Guiding Light
New palm-size computers show videos and maps to lead visitors around even to a good cup of joe
The Elusive Shoshone
Needing horses and a route across the Rockies, the corps must find Sacagawea's people or risk the fate of the expedition
The Power and the Glory
She bought the electric drill to get a tidier household. Then she found out about the secret sisterhood