Smithsonian Magazine: November 2009
Features
Looting Mali
A growing appetite for West African treasures—from Neolithic pottery to 14th-century wood carvings—drives an illegal trade that's depleting the nation's heritage
By Joshua Hammer
Invasion of the Longhorns
In leafy Worcester, Massachusetts, authorities are battling to contain an invasion beetle that is poised to devastate the great hardwood forests of New England
By Peter Alsop
The Battle of Arlington
The Union seized Gen. Robert E. Lee's home without firing a shot—then fought for decades to hold what would become the nation's most hollowed ground
By Robert M. Poole
Decoding Jackson Pollock
Did the Abstract Expressionist hide his name amid the swirls and torrents of a legendary 1943 mural? An art historian makes the case for a signature gesture
By Henry Adams
The Great Wide Open
A land of silvery light and cherished silences, astonishing peaks and local drollery, gold rush saloons and sealskin tumblers, Alaska perpetuates the belief that anything is possible
By Pico Iyer
Shades of Ansel Adams
The photographer once likened taking pictures in color to playing an out-of-tune piano. But a new book shows he still had perfect pitch
By Richard B. Woodward
The Rescue of Henry Clay
An all-but-forgotten portrait of the Great Compromiser restored after decades of neglect takes pride of place at the U.S. Capitol
By Fergus M. Bordewich
Departments
Indelible Images
Saigon Requiem
The death of Hugh Van Es, whose rooftop photograph symbolized the Vietnam War's end, launched a "reunion" of those who covered the conflict
By David Lamb
My Kind of Town
Fenced In
The novelist revisits his past to come to terms with his rural hometown
By Tim O'Brien
Presence of Mind
Historical Laughter
Those who don't have power tend to make fun of those who do. But what happens when power shifts?
By Lance Morrow
Wild Things
Wild Things:
Life as We Know It
Geckos, tiny dinosaurs, cave man couture, and more
By Amanda Bensen, Abby Callard, T.A. Frail, Ashley Luthern and Sarah Zielinski
Around the Mall
Priceless
Now keeping company with the Magna Carta, the John Marshall archive documents a way of life
By Amanda Bensen
The Object at Hand
Drawn From Life
Artist Janice Lowry's illustrated diaries record her history—and ours
By Owen Edwards
