CURRENT ISSUE

June 2008

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Features

great white attacks a seal decoy

Forget Jaws, Now it's . . . Brains!

Great white sharks are typecast, say experts. The creatures are socially sophisticated and, yes, smart

Mormon encampment

The Brink of War

One hundred fifty years ago, the U.S. Army marched into Utah prepared to battle Brigham Young and his Mormon militia

industrial diamonds

Diamonds on Demand

Lab-grown gemstones are now practically indistinguishable from mined diamonds. Scientists and engineers see a world of possibilities

Library dining room of the Sir John Soane Museum

Small Wonders

Sir John Soane's Museum in London and other idiosyncratic house museums in Europe yield pleasures beyond their size

boy under a bridge

Gregory Crewdson's Epic Effects

The photographer uses movie production techniques to create "in-between moments." But you'll have to supply the story line

John Montague

Montague the Magnificent

He was a golfing wonder, a dapper strongman and the toast of the Hollywood smart set—then his past caught up with him

Departments

Indelible Images

Tabled Resolution

Betty Ford had a what-the-hell moment—and an accomplice in photographer David Hume Kennerly

Digs

Space Race II

Scientists worry that a contest to send robotic rovers to the moon will threaten lunar landmarks

Presence of Mind

On the Origin of a Theory

Charles Darwin's bid for enduring fame was sparked 150 years ago by word of a rival's research

From the Editor

Crowd Pleasers

Too good to be true?

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Readers Respond to the May Issue

Wild Things

Wild Things: Life as We Know It

The whiskered auklet's plumage, joshua trees, squid beaks and more

Interview

Wallace Broecker Geochemist, Palisades, New York

How to stop global warming? CO2 "scrubbers," a new book says

Points of Interest

Points of Interest

Notable American Destinations and Happenings

This Month in History

June Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

From the Castle

From the Castle

What a Year!

Around the Mall

Squeeze Play

A new Smithsonian Networks Film brings alive the upbeat music of Colombia's cowboy country

Around the Mall

Jukebox

Love Song

The Object at Hand

Golden Grail

Few U.S. coins are rarer than the never circulated 1933 double eagle, melted down after the nation dropped the gold standard

Q&A

Robert Bullard

Environmental Justice Advocate

Around the Mall

Making History

Early Birds

What's Up

What's Up

The Last Page

Moses at the Bat

In the Big Inning...