Smithsonian Magazine: August 2005
Features
Shark
Recent attacks on people off the Florida coast are a tragic reminder of the animal's fierce nature. Yet scientists say the terrifying predator is itself in grave danger
By Steve Kemper
It's Over
We asked readers to tell us where they were and how they reacted to the news that World War II had ended. And what a response we got!
By Smithsonian magazine
Mystery Man of Stonehenge
Who was he and where did he come from? And what was his role in the making of the great monument? The discovery of a 4,300-year-old skeleton surrounded by intriguing artifacts has archaeologists abuzz
By Richard Stone
Return to Da Lat
A veteran Vietnam correspondent revisits the romantic retreat where he, and so many others, sought respite from war in Indochina
By Stanley Karnow
World's Unlikeliest Bestseller
Fifty years ago a brewer's bet spawned a compelling compendium of feats, stunts and trivia
By Bruce Watson
E-Gad!
Americans discard more than 100 million computers, cellphones and other electronic devices each year. As "e-waste" piles up, so does concern about this growing threat to the environment
By Elizabeth Royte
Building the Bomb
A new book about atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer charts the secret debate over deployment of the first A-bomb and the anxiety that suffused its first live test
By Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
Departments
Indelible Images
Footloose
The image of Bruce McCandless' spacewalk two decades ago still amazes. It was the first untethered walk everand was among the last
By Anne Broache
Points of Interest
In the Fast Lane
Drivers gear up to set speed records at Utah's desolate Bonneville Salt Flats
By Preston Lerner
Phenomena & Curiosities
Baked Alaska
A unique study documents the disappearance of Alaska's glaciers, blamed on global warming
By Laura Helmuth
Presence of Mind
Ghost of a Chance
How did the ivory-billed woodpecker, which was feared extinct, hang on all these years?
By Scott Weidensaul
Editor's Note
War Stories
Remembering the sound and fury—and the joy—of the end of World War II
By Carey Winfrey
From the Secretary
The Price of Ambition
From the beginning, the cost of increasing and diffusing knowledge exceeded even Smithson's generosity
By Lawrence M. Small
Lewis and Clark
A Bittersweet Homecoming
As the corps finally makes contact with the Shoshone Indians, interpreter Sacagawea reunites with her family
By Smithsonian magazine
The Last Page
Give Weeds a Chance
How a cultivated dislike of gardening can lead to more time on the porch
By Ann Hodgman
