CURRENT ISSUE

May 2007

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Features

The British colonists who settled a bit of land they soon named Jamestown

Beyond Jamestown

After the colony was founded, 400 years ago this month, Capt. John Smith set out to explore the riches of Chesapeake Bay

At Cafe Des Amis in Breaux Bridge

Cajun Country

Zydeco and étouffée still reign in western Louisiana, where the zesty gumbo known as Acadian culture has simmered since 1764

Herman Melville completed his opus, Moby-Dick, in the shadow of Mount Greylock

The Berkshires

The hills are alive with the sounds of Tanglewood plus modern dance, the art of Norman Rockwell and a tradition that goes back to Nathaniel Hawthorne

Galena, Il

Galena, Illinois

Ulysses S. Grant's postwar retreat is not the only reason to visit this restored Victorian showcase

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Highlights & Hotspots

A selection of the season's noteworthy events

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What Camera?

Look what photographer Robert Creamer can do with a flatbed scanner

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Greg Carr's Big Gamble

In a watershed experiment, the Boston entrepreneur is putting $40 million of his own money into a splendid but ravaged park in Mozambique

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Epic Hero

How a self-taught British genius rediscovered the Mesopotamian saga of Gilgamesh —after 2,500 years

Departments

Indelible Images

They Needed to Talk

And family friend William Eggleston, his camera at his side, felt compelled to shoot

Emily Yellin
Digs

The New World's Oldest Calendar

Research at a 4,200-year-old temple in Peru yields clues to an ancient people who may have clocked the heavens

Anne Bolen
Tribute

Organization Man

Carl Linnaeus, born 300 years ago, brought order to nature's blooming, buzzing confusion

Kennedy Warne
Wild Things

Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Squid light shows, monkey hugs and chickadee alarms

Smithsonian magazine
The Object at Hand

Doodle Dandy

With a few deft strokes, Saul Steinberg turned institutional letterhead into signature works of whimsy

Interview

Interview: Daniel Gilbert

What will make you happy? A social scientist explains why it's so hard to predict