December 2009
Smithsonian magazine delivers trusted and incisive reporting on history, science, nature, culture and travel.
Features
Wildlife Trafficking
Stolen animals are a $10 billion business worldwide. A journey into the Amazon Basin traces the illicit origins of Wildlife Trafficking
Hallelujah
Tired of financial headaches and temperamental divas, Handel turned from opera to choral music. The result was Messiah, more popular than ever 250 years after the composer's death
Handel Slept Here
The composer's early-Georgian town house reflects his life and times
The Pyramid Man
An amateur archaeologist says he's discovered the world's oldest pyramids—in Bosnia. But many experts remain dubious
Glee Mail
Seasonal greetings from artists such as Alexander Calder and Philip Guston celebrate the handmade holiday card
Savoring Puebla
Mexico's "City of Angels" is home to gilded churches and artistic treasures. It's also the nation's culinary capital, where life is enjoyed one chalupa at a time
Ethiopia's Exotic Monkeys
In the war-ravaged highlands, a flamboyant, little-known primate is accessible to researchers eager to chronicle its complex social life
Putting America on the Map
A new book tells how—and why—two 16th-century German scholars boldly named the new continent. Their extraordinary leap would forever change the way people envisioned the world
Departments
Mr. Rockwell's Neighborhood
No wonder the folksy illustrator's work reflected small-town values
Cosmic Harvest
Carried back to Earth by a spacecraft, particles from a comet's tail hold clues to the origin of our solar system
Wild Things: Life as We Know It
Butterfly GPS, glowing mushrooms, bat-hunting songbirds and more
Timing is Everything
Corals synchronize reproduction with the precision of a symphony
Special Delivery
In 1934, a zeppelin bound for Brazil carried a cargo of Christmas cheer