Readers Respond to the September/October 2025 Issue

Your feedback on cranberry bogs, the true history of Valley Forge and Cormac McCarthy’s secret library

Smithsonian magazine

November 2025

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Crimson Harvest

The article “High on the Bog” (September/October 2025) sent me on a nostalgic trip back to my childhood in southern New Jersey. The cranberry bogs in the state’s Pine Barrens may not be as commercially grand in scale as those in Massachusetts, but the operation is the same. I would very much like to read a pre-industrial history of cranberry harvesting. —Arlene Rabin | New Tripoli, Pennsylvania

How is it that Smithsonian chose to publish an article about cranberries and completely ignored the state that is by far the largest producer of cranberries in the United States? That state would be Wisconsin. —Gene Sandvig | Waterford, Wisconsin

A Hero at Valley Forge

Hats off to Richard Bell for his most informative article (“Inside the Comeback at Valley Forge,” September/October 2025). I have done a lot of reading on the subject and have never read much about Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben and his background, including his struggles finding employment. What a true patriot—just what George Washington needed to make an army out of his undisciplined and unskilled troops. —Rich Gronquist | Bellingham, Washington

Flight Risks

I have been very interested in bird migration, but I had not considered the needs of insects (“Eyes on the Skies!,” September/October 2025). The many ways that human activity can harm aeroecology are frightening. But as the article pointed out, knowing the problems can be the step needed to overcome them. This is a valuable introduction to a new way of looking at the world. —Norm Mundhenk | Silverdale, Washington

Thanks for such an informative and well-researched article, especially the focus on preventing bird deaths from collision. I would like to thank the Javits Center for its efforts not only to reduce bird deaths but also to beautify the New York skyline. —John Goodroe | Mobile, Alabama

An Open Book

I can only imagine the thrill Richard Grant felt when he received the invitation to view Cormac McCarthy’s private library (“The Secret Life of Cormac McCarthy,” September/October 2025). As the article notes, a personal library provides a highly intimate glimpse of a person’s concerns and passions. In the case of McCarthy, it’s a glimpse into his genius and possibly a minor form of madness. It’s a collection that’s not only massive but also as particular as a fingerprint. —Jeanne Bonner | West Hartford, Connecticut