Double Blind
The untold story of how British intelligence infiltrated and undermined the Irish Republican Army
April 2006
In This Issue
Matthew Teague, "Double Blind"; James Bamford, "Big Brother Is Listening"; Robert D. Kaplan, "The Coming Normalcy?"; Carl Elliott, "The Drug Pushers"; Christopher Hitchens on "James Bond"; James Fallows on Camera Phones; Ross Douthat on Newt Gingrich's return; and much more.
Features
Big Brother Is Listening
What happens when the technology of espionage outstrips the law’s ability to protect ordinary citizens from it?
The Coming Normalcy?
Whatever else the American occupation of Iraq may be, it serves as a laboratory for ideas about how to wring stability out of chaos—the great foreign-policy challenge of the twenty-first century
The Drug Pushers
As America turns its health-care system over to the market, pharmaceutical reps are wielding more and more influence—and the line between them and doctors is beginning to blur
Markets and Morals
Atlantic writings by Henry Demarest Lloyd, John Maynard Keynes, John Kenneth Galbraith, Peter Drucker, and others.
How to Shampoo in French
A reference guide
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The Man Who Would Be King
George W. Bush threatens creeping autocracy unless Congress and the courts act jointly—and forcefully—to stop him
Poison Pill
Big, politically ugly changes to America's health-care system are unavoidable—consumer-driven health care may be the least-bad option
Jock Itch
Lynn Swann's run for governor shows why political pros are big fans of star athletes
Worse Than Iraq?
Nigeria's president and onetime hope for a stable future is leading his country toward implosion—and possible U.S. military intervention
Gingrich's Long Game
The former speaker of the House is looking for a second act. Will he get it?
Primary Sources
Another problem for Pakistan; the teachers nobody wants; why you can't trust what you read; unhappier by the dozen?
Books
Lee and Sherman
Fever, by Peter Richmond; Upon the Altar of the Nation, by Harry S. Stout; Scars of War, Wounds of Peace, by Shlomo Ben-Ami; Barrier by Isabel Kershner
Bottoms Up
Ian Fleming, the man behind James Bond, was a sadist, a narcissist, and a pervert. But he also saw past the confines of the Cold War
New Fiction
Abide With Me, by Elizabeth Strout
Touch of Evil
A selective investigation of recent mysteries and thrillers
Cry Wolfe
In defense of the last writer in the world who needs defending
A Close Read
High Lonesome: Stories 1966-2006, by Joyce Carol Oates
New Fiction
Elements of Style, by Wendy Wasserstein
Found in Translation?
A new version of War and Peace seeks naturalism through slang
Cult Classics
Edifying or entertaining sacred texts you’ve never read
Cover to Cover
A guide to current releases
Pursuits
Empire's End
A hike along Hadrian's Wall—and through the mists of time
Spring Chickens
Heirloom poultry is poised to become “the other red meat”—if fears about avian flu don’t keep people away
A Thousand Words
Cameras and telephones are coming together—and bringing people together—in ways that can shape society
The Last Edwardian
Michael Wharton (1913–2006)
Who's Who
A selective index to this month’s issue, compiled by Benjamin Healy
Also in this issue
Other articles in this issue
"He's in the Backseat!"
The NSA searches the world’s airwaves for faint whispers of suicide bombers and elusive terrorists. One Sunday in November of 2002, its listeners scored a rare hit
Grignolino
Italy's Beaujolais is as rare as good chicken
