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Epic Hero

How a self-taught British genius rediscovered the Mesopotamian saga of Gilgamesh—after 2,500 years

Beyond Jamestown

After the colony was founded, 400 years ago this month, Capt. John Smith set out to explore the riches of Chesapeake Bay. With Smith's journals to guide him, a modern-day sailor retraces that historic voyage

Cajun Country

Zydeco and étouffée still reign in western Louisiana, where the zesty gumbo known as Acadian culture has simmered since 1764

The Berkshires

The hills are alive with the sounds of Tanglewood plus modern dance, the art of Norman Rockwell and a literary tradition that goes back to Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville

Galena, Illinois

Ulysses S. Grant's postwar retreat is not the only reason to visit this restored Victorian showcase

Highlights & Hotspots

A selection of the season's noteworthy events

What Camera?

Look what photographer Robert Creamer can do with a flatbed scanner

Greg Carr's Big Gamble

In a watershed experiment, the Boston entrepreneur is putting $40 million of his own money into a splendid but ravaged park in Mozambique

Lost Treasure

In Gilgamesh, scholars unearthed literary gold

Interview: Daniel Gilbert

What will make you happy? A social scientist explains why it's so hard to predict

The New World's Oldest Calendar

Research at a 4,200-year-old temple in Peru yields clues to an ancient people who may have clocked the heavens

Doodle Dandy

With a few deft strokes, Saul Steinberg turned institutional letterhead into signature works of whimsy

Organization Man

Carl Linnaeus, born 300 years ago, brought order to nature's blooming, buzzing confusion

Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Squid light shows, monkey hugs and chickadee alarms

Blues Alley

How Chicago became the blues capital of the world

Life Aquatic

The sailing world docks in Annapolis

Saving Machu Picchu

Will the opening of a bridge give new life to the surrounding community or further encroach upon the World Heritage Site?

Breaking into Alcatraz

A former guard's inside look at America's most famous prison

Derby Days

Thoroughbreds, mint juleps, big hats—the Kentucky Derby's place in American history

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