Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Articles

Landon Nordeman, who is 33 and based in New York City, says he first got interested in Elvis' afterlife when he saw Ryan Pelton give a performance so riveting it transformed the auditorium into a time capsule.

Elvis Lives!

Thirty years after the King’s death, there’s still a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on, thanks to legions of “tribute artists”

None

The Art of Pizza

Cooking up the world’s most authentic pie in Naples, Italy

What inspires French perfume nose Celiné Ellena? "Just looking at people and how they live, hearing what they are talking about, seeing what kind of clothes they are wearing," she says.

FOR HIRE: Perfume Nose

A third-generation fragrance expert tells us how to smell a winner

None

An Evolving Ritual

The National Powwow showcases a mixture of tradition and competition

None

A Hip Tradition

The age-old art of hula is still moving and shaking

Thurgood Marshall

August Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

"I think the most surprising thing was how Hemingway is still so alive [in Cuba]," says Valerie Hemingway.

Barefoot Hemingway

Valerie Hemingway, author of “Hemingway’s Cuba, Cuba’s Hemingway,” talks about pirated novels and Papa’s living legend

With his stylish clothes and powdered wig, Stede Bonnet (in a c. 1725 woodcut) stood out among the bearded, unkempt, ill-mannered pirates with whom he sailed.

The Gentleman Pirate

How Stede Bonnet went from wealthy landowner to villain on the sea

Cubans had fought vehemently for independence from Spain from the 1860s to the 1890s, but by the 20th century, the country had become beholden economically to the United States (a Cuban street, with a classic American car, today).

Before the Revolution

Socialites and celebrities flocked to Cuba in the 1950s

Researchers collect core samples in 2001. During drilling operations, several anchors placed by divers secured the boat to the sea floor.

Underwater World

New evidence reveals a city beneath ancient Alexandria

A field crew in Kenya excavates a Homo erectus skull.

Head Case

Two fossils found in Kenya raise evolutionary questions

Amber Room

A Brief History of the Amber Room

Dubbed the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” the room that once symbolized peace was stolen by Nazis then disappeared for good

In the Persian Gulf, authorities are concerned about terrorism as well as piracy. Coalition vessels (the Coast Guard cutter Aquidneck, behind Coast Guardsman Zachary Coone) patrol exclusion zones around Iraq's Al Basrah and Khawr Al Amaya terminals, where tankers take on millions of barrels of oil daily.

The Pirate Hunters

As buccanneering is back with a vengeance, stepped-up law enforcement and high-tech tools work to help protect shipping on the high seas

"It used to be said that Yankees knew of only two places in Georgia—the Coca-Cola factory and Tara—and one of those was fictional," notes Greene (Atlanta's Olympic Park).

Some Don’t Like It Hot

Atlantans regard summer—and the overheated tourists it spawns—woefully

None

Points of Interest

This month’s guide to notable American destinations and happenings

The almost proprietary interest that Cubans take in Hemingway can be seen in the lobby of the Ambos Mundos Hotel (above), where photographs of the author overlook the lobby.

Hemingway’s Cuba, Cuba’s Hemingway

His last personal secretary returns to Havana and discovers that the novelist’s mythic presence looms larger than ever

At the height of the season, there isn't a table to be had in Positano's elegant restaurants. Fresh seafood reigns, often served in a broth called "acqua pazza" made with garlic, oil, parsley, white wine and small tomatoes, washed down with wine from grapes cultivated in the terraced vineyards that line the cliffs.

Snapshot: Amalfi Coast

A virtual vacation to southern Italy’s historic and charming seaside

"Bones to Ashes," by Kathy Reichs

Bones to Ashes

An excerpt from the new book by Kathy Reichs

None

Wild Things: Life As We Know It

Mammoths, Clownfish and Traveling Plants

"As a kid I pictured myself as a scientist," says Reichs. "I never anticipated writing fiction."

On the Case

Kathy Reichs, the forensic expert who helped inspire the TV show “Bones,” talks about homicides, DNA and her latest novel

Page 1209 of 1332