Mark Bowden, "Among the Hostage-Takers"; James Fallows, "Will Iran Be Next?"; William H. Simon, "The Confidentiality Fetish"; Benjamin Wittes, "Leaks and the Law"; Robert D. Kaplan, "At the Gates of Brussels"; Anonymous, "How Not to Catch a Terrorist"; P. J. O'Rourke, "Hail to the _____"; Alexandra Starr, "Executive Assistance"; fiction by Bill Roorbach; and much more.
Twenty-five years ago in Tehran a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy and took hostage the entire American diplomatic mission. Now many of the leading hostage-takers speak candidly about their actions—which a surprising number deeply regret
Soldiers, spies, and diplomats conduct a classic Pentagon war game—with sobering results
The problem with attorney-client privilege
What happens when the journalistic principle of protecting confidential sources clashes with the public interest in prosecuting a crime? A cross-examination
A section of the bookcase slowly swung out into the room—a secret door, straight from a monster movie
Terrorists depend on the cooperation of the media. It's time to stop providing it
If Recep Tayyip Erdogan gets his way, Turkey will be more Islamic and Europe will be more Turkish. Both would be good news
A ten-step program, from the files of the U.S. intelligence community
December elections could edge Taiwan closer to a symbolic declaration of independence—and the United States toward military conflict with China. There's one way out
The world's most bibulous countries
An all-purpose post-election editorial, offered free to news organizations across the United States
The split between "red" states and "blue" states has never been wider, but one type of candidate is bridging that gap: businessmen
[This article is unavailable online.]
The highway bill—a translation
Federal air marshals behaving badly; why women get less sleep than men; divorce among born-again Christians
[This article is unavailable online.]
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison; Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, edited by David J. Wishart; The Children's Blizzard, by David Laskin; The Encyclopedia of Chicago, edited by James R. Grossman, Ann Durkin Keating, and Janice L. Reiff; Chicago, by A. J. Liebling; Honored Guest, by Joy Williams
In Alice Munro's fiction, memory and passion reorder life
If society creates art, as Stephen Greenblatt believes, then why was Shakespeare's achievement so singular?
Marilynne Robinson's long-awaited second novel is an almost otherworldly book—and reveals Robinson as a somewhat otherworldly figure herself
From corruptibility to immortality, the human condition as revealed in four very different books
Victor Klemperer's meticulous diaries of daily life under East Germany's "soul-smashing" Communists reveal a man trying to convince himself not that the system was wrong but that it was right
The art of the unreal
"Remarks at the Peace Banquet"
Small batch by small batch, the makers of a new artisanal vodka have tapped into the market for America's best-selling spirits
Marvin Mitchelson (1928-2004)
A selective index to this month's issue
What to watch for in the weeks ahead
A guide to steamboat cruises down the Mississippi River
