Smithsonian Magazine: December 2006
Features
Antarctica Erupts!
A trip to Mount Erebus yields a rare, close-up look at one of the world's weirdest geological marvels
By Laura Helmuth
The Treasures of Timbuktu
Scholars in the fabled African city, once a great center of learning and trade, are racing to save a still emerging cache of ancient manuscripts
By Joshua Hammer
Pay Dirt
When self-taught archaeologists dug up an 1850s steamboat, they brought to light a slice of American life
By Fergus M. Bordewich
Time Capsule
A riverboat's telltale contents included 133-year-old pickles. Want one?
By Fergus M. Bordewich
Rembrandt at 400
Astonishing brushwork, wrinkles-and-all honesty, deep compassion. What's the secret of his enduring genius?
By Stephanie Dickey
An Almost Mystical Feeling
Master painter Rembrandt was also a talented draftsman and printmaker
By Stephanie Dickey
Waging Peace in the Philippines
With innovative tactics, U.S. forces make headway in the "war on terror"
By Eliza Griswold
Tumult in the Philippines
A timeline of the country's conflicts
By Smithsonian magazine
Diamonds Unearthed
In the first installment of a multi-part series, Smithsonian diamond expert Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem and Mineral Collection, explains how the rare crystals form
By Cate Lineberry
Departments
Indelible Images
Beard's Eye View
When elephants began dying, Peter Beard suspected that poachers were not entirely to blame
By Owen Edwards
My Kind of Town
Tony Hillerman's Mile-High Multiculturalism
The late author of savvy Native American sleuth stories reflected on his cherished Southwestern high desert home
By Tony Hillerman
Presence of Mind
Man of the Century
But 100 years after writing his classic memoir, the question about Henry Adams remains: Which century?
By Peter Hellman
From the Secretary
Eminent Domain
The Institution's Regents include the Vice President, the Chief Justice and other national leaders
By Lawrence M. Small
The Object at Hand
Sacks Appeal
Attention shoppers: just what you need— one more seasonal ornament
By Owen Edwards
Wild Things
Wild Things: Life as We Know It
Parasitic plants, zebra tarantulas and wobbles in Earth's orbit
By Smithsonian magazine
Interview
Interview: Margaret Lowman
Bugs in trees and kids in labs get their due in a new book by "Canopy Meg"
By Marian Smith Holmes
The Last Page
Last Page: Going Up?
Some brushes with fame are more uplifting than others
By Eric Hanson
