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

What's Up

What's Up

Paper dolls, Josephine Baker and the Seven Years' War
By Amy Crawford

From the Editor

Soft Power

Some promising endeavors on Pacific islands
By Carey Winfrey

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

This Month in History

December Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable
By Alison McLean

The Last Page

Last Page: Going Up?

Some brushes with fame are more uplifting than others
By Eric Hanson

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