CURRENT ISSUE

September 2004

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Features

Francis Scott Key

Reluctant Patriot

Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words that would become our national anthem, had opposed America's entry into the War of 1812

Unexpected Antarctica

Far from being a wasteland of ice and snow, the world's most remote region is alive with history, color and life

Hmong service

American Odyssey

They fled terror in Laos after secretly aiding American forces in the Vietnam War. Now 200,000 Hmong prosper-and struggle-in the United States

California Condor at San Diego Zoo

Becoming a Full-Fledged Condor

The California condor learns from people, other condors and the school of hard knocks

Lee Bontecou's Brave New World

A star of the 1960s art scene returns with a triumphant exhibition of futuristic works

Departments

Indelible Images

Man of Action

An eccentric photographer and a racehorse made history one day in 1878. The world would never look the same

Points of Interest

Easy Riders

For whistle-stop campaigning or just rolling down memory lane, nothing could be finer than your own railroad car

The Object at Hand

Comedy Central

"Your Show of Shows," starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, pioneered madcap TV humor in the 1950s

People File

Chestnutty

Wielding cutting-edge science and lots of patience. James Hill Craddock hopes to restore the ravaged American chestnut tree to its former glory

Editor's Note

Point, Shoot, Submit

Our new and improved photo contest swings into gear

From the Secretary

Deep Science

From the Chesapeake Bay to Panama, scores of Smithsonian divers probe underwater mysteries

The Last Page

From Russia With Love

Tolstoy Does "Oprah"