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Articles

New Faces of 1946

An unpopular president. A war-weary people. In the midterm elections of 60 years ago, voters took aim at incumbents

The ship slipped beneath the waves in just 36 minutes.

R.I.P., Mighty O

A fabled aircraft carrier sunk deliberately off the coast of Florida is the world’s largest artificial reef

Federal wildlife biologists announce on November 6, 1981, that a black-footed ferret, a mammal feared extinct, has been discovered alive and well and living in Wyoming. The 2 1/4-pound male, found at home in a prairie dog burrow, is fitted with a radio collar and released. By 2006, captive breeding and reintroduction helps the wild population rebound to some 700 animals in five Western states.

November Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

John F. Kennedy on the campaign trail in 1960

Sharp Pencils Shape Elections

How three pioneering reporters reshaped the way the press covers elections-and politics itself

Election flyer/poster distributed on behalf of Richard Nixon's campaign for Congress, 1946

An Interview with William E. Leuchtenburg, author of “New Faces of 1946”

William E. Leuchtenburg discusses the 1946 elections and how politics have changed

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The Spirit of George Washington

After two centuries, Mount Vernon’s whiskey distillery returns

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

Discovering George Washington

Little-known facts about the nation’s first president

Edward Savage painted this portrait of Mount Vernon in 1792.

Exploring Mount Vernon

George Washington’s historic Virginia plantation

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November Letters

Readers respond to the September issue

Bonobos have a playful, gentle manner that is often reminiscent of human beings at their best. Our common primate ancestor lived six million years ago.

The Smart and Swinging Bonobo

Civil war has threatened the existence of wild bonobos, while new research on the hypersexual primates challenges their peace-loving reputation

Sue Savage-Rumbaugh (with Kanzi in 2003) says her bonobos can communicate with her and each other using more than 348 symbols.

Speaking Bonobo

Bonobos have an impressive vocabulary, especially when it comes to snacks

What do dancing and scientific research have in common? "Creativity," says Jarvis (performing in high school in the early 1980s), and "hard work."

Song and Dance Man

Erich Jarvis dreamed of becoming a ballet star. Now the scientist’s studies of how birds learn to sing are forging a new understanding of the human brain

Claudine Andre, founder of Lola Ya Bonobo (Bonobo Paradise) sanctuary, rescues about ten of the endangered animals per year.

Bonobo Paradise

“Bonobo Paradise” is an 86-acre sanctuary set in verdant hills 20 miles south of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Killer whales, trap-jaw ants and dinosaurs

Anthropologists recently found fossils of Paranthropus robustus, also called robust australopithecines, in an excavation site in South Africa. Paranthropus coexisted with human ancestors Homo habilis and Homo erectus as recently as 1.5 million years ago. Some anthropologists had believed that Paranthropus' limited diet caused its extinction, but new evidence from the fossils suggests that Paranthropus had a varied diet that included both hard and soft plants as well as herbivores.

Teeth Tales

Fossils tell a new story about the diversity of hominid diets

Mullet is a regional specialty along the lines of Kentucky burgoo or Louisiana gator tail.

Fish Are Jumpin’

A coastal community struggles to preserve the North Carolina “mullet blow”

To the surprise of many, Pinochet's free-market reforms led to unprecedented prosperity and growth (Santiago, Chile's booming capital). With its thriving middle class and profitable exports, the nation today is poised to become Latin America's most economically robust.

Chile’s Driving Force

Once imprisoned by Pinochet, the new Socialist president Michelle Bachelet wants to spread the wealth initiated by the dictator’s economic policies

"I had driven up into the northwest Arkansas hills to spend a semester" at the University of Arkansas, says Gilchrist; she has stayed more than 30 years.

Watching Water Run

Uncomfortable in a world of privilege, a novelist headed for the hills

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An Interview with Peter van Agtmael, Photographer for “Return to the Marsh”

Van Agtmael spoke with Ben Block by phone from the American base Fort Apache in Adhamiyah, outside Baghdad

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An Interview with Josh Hammer, Author of “Return to the Marsh”

Ben Block spoke with Josh about Iraq and reporting in dangerous regions of the world

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