Smithsonian Magazine: December 2002
Features
Manhattan Mayhem
Martin Scorsese's realistic portrayal of pre-Civil War strife Gangs of New York re-creates the brutal street warfare waged between immigrant groups
By Fergus M. Bordewich
Betting on Seabiscuit
Laura Hillenbrand beat the odds to write the hit horse-racing saga while fighting chronic fatigue syndrome, a mysterious disorder starting to reveal its secrets
By Larry Katzenstein
George Catlin's Obsession
No artist devoted himself more passionately to a single subject than George Catlin. An exhibition at the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. asks: Did his work exploit or advance the American Indian?
By Bruce Watson
Sacred and Profaned
Misguided restorations of the exquisite Buddhist shrines of Pagan in Burma may do more harm than good
By Richard Covington
Happy Trails
As freshly carved toys or treasured heirlooms, well-bred rocking horses ride high in the affections of kids and collectors alike
By Per Ola and Emily D'Aulaire
Africa: Beyond the Stereotypes
In a single day 95 photographers document a wildly diverse continent bursting with energy and promise
By Smithsonian magazine
Dividing the Spoils
In a new book, historian Michael Beschloss re-creates the 1945 Potsdam Conference at which Harry Truman found his presidential voice and determined the shape of postwar Europe
By Michael Beschloss
Departments
People File
Sherlock of Spuds
In a case that could reveal the villain behind the Irish Potato Famine, the gumshoe is a plant scientist
By T. Edward Nickens
Points of Interest
Like a Rowing Stone
An unusual canoe competition in Madison, Wisconsin, floats the notion that concrete waives the rules
By Michael Behar
