Smithsonian Magazine: July-August 2011
Features
Dig, Drink and Be Merry
The driving force behind civilization? It's the quest for intoxication, says archaeologist Patrick McGovern, who analyzes ancient bits of pottery to recreate the earliest known brews
By Abigail Tucker
Dazzling Displays
Out of more than 50,000 photographs submitted, editors – and readers – picked seven showstoppers
By Jesse Rhodes
The End of Illusions
Confederates thought they would quickly capture Washington, D.C. President Lincoln wanted the confrontation to be a "short, and a decisive one." The Battle of Bull Run would bury all such expectations
By Ernest B. Furgurson
Crisis in the Caves
Can scientists stop a new disease that is killing bats in catastrophic numbers?
By Michelle Nijhuis
Cultivating Art
To protect the fruits of their labor and thwart "plant thieves," early American growers enlisted artists
By Daniel J. Kevles
A Whale to Watch
The true story of a lonely Orca leaps from printed page to silver screen, with a boost from new technology
By Michael Parfit
Orca Culture
Researchers have found a barite of complex, learned behaviors that differ from pod to pod
By Lisa Stiffler
Departments
Wild Things
Wild Things: Tarantulas, Jellyfish and More...
Hummingbirds, attacking bears, ancient hominids and other news updates in wildlife research
By T.A. Frail, Megan Gambino, Laura Helmuth, Erin Wayman and Sarah Zielinski
Indelible Images
Big Wheels
William Eggleston's 1970 portrait of a tricycle got a movement going
By Mark Feeney
My Kind of Town
Town and Country
The prolific author trades wilderness for city life, Montana style
By Rick Bass
Around the Mall
Seeking the Origins of Amber
Amber is frequently faked; the real thing may have unexpected value
By Megan Gambino
The Object at Hand
Wernher von Braun's Launch
Although the Nazi "vengeance weapon" was a wartime failure, it ushered in the space age
By Owen Edwards
Presence of Mind
Leaks and the Law
The prosecution of Thomas Drake highlights the tension between government secrecy and the public's right to know
By David Wise
