Smithsonian Magazine: April 2013
Features
The 20 Best Small Towns in America
From the blues to the big top, we’ve picked the most intriguing small towns to enjoy arts and smarts - beginning with the deeply moving (and surprisingly entertaining) site of the pivotal Civil War battle
By Susan Spano
Gettysburg, PA
Historian Tony Horwitz travels to the Civil War battlefield and finds that even where time is frozen, it’s undergone welcome changes
By Tony Horwitz
Kon-Tiki Sails Again
A new film recreates the epic voyage—and revives the controversy over its legendary leader
By Franz Lidz
Birthplace of the American Vacation
First in crude tents and later in elaborate resorts, city dwellers took to the Adirondacks to explore the joys of the wilderness
By Tony Perrottet
Into the Okavang Delta
The joys—and dangers—of discovering Africa on the back of an elephant
By Paul Theroux
Up and Away
In the 1930s, the legendary DC-3 persuaded Americans to take to the skies
By Kathleen Burke
Burning Man
With ethereal artworks traced in flames and gunpowder, Cai Guo-Qiang is making a big bang
By Ron Rosenbaum
Flights of Fancy
How the golden era of air travel lured playwright David Mamet into the world of memorabilia
By David Mamet
The Secret of Dirt
At the Finnish-Russian border, scientists investigate a medical mystery
By Andrew Curry
Departments
From the Castle
From the Castle
Secretary G. Wayne Clough on the Institution's traveling exhibits
By G. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Battle for the Arctic
The promise of oil has heated up a global argument over the Arctic’s true borders
By Amy Crawford
Mapping Turf Wars
In Los Angeles, an anthropologist is using equations to teach police about the Bloods and the bees
By Joseph Stromberg
Aid and Abet
Doctors Without Borders concedes it sometimes pays a moral price to save lives
By Guy Gugliotta
Around the Mall
Treasure Hunt
A curator’s new book showcases America’s mania for souvenirs
By Paul Bisceglio
Books
Books
Michael Pollan on the joys of fermentation. Plus: World War II up close, amazing tales of ingestion and a sympathetic look at autism
By Chloë Schama
