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in Smithsonian
by
Avis Berman, April 2008
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is currently hosting the work of rogue French painter Gustave Courbet. Courbet, one of the most controversial painters of his time, was defined by his realistic paintings of "familiar things as they are," from erotic depictions of women to the filth and hardness of manual laborers. Unlike most artists, Courbet avoided formal art education, developed his own techniques, and worked in every genre. He was purposefully confrontational, often attacking established social and political values; his actions likely set the stage for the Impressionist movement. Berman presents an intriguing look at a man with a gargantuan personality.
Posted 11:19, 11 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Sarah Davis
and edited by Brijit.
in Smithsonian
by
Guy Gugliotta, April 2008
With the purchase of a collection of photographs taken by Andrew St. George, Yale University secured a raw photographic record of Fidel Castro and the early days of the Cuban revolution. St. George, born Andras Szentgyorgyi in Hungary, was a writer and photographer who emigrated to the United States in 1952. An anti-communist, St. George initially believed he was chronicling a nationalist revolution, rather than a communist one. (He was periodically accused of spying for the CIA, a charge denied by his widow.) Regardless, the images of Castro rallying multitudes of Cubans show the early euphoria of the revolution.
Posted 3:31, 10 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Jennifer Zickerman
and edited by Brijit.
in Smithsonian
by
Robert Irion, April 2008
Hidden deep within the chaotic center of the Milky Way lies a supermassive black hole, an incredibly dense and compact singularity with the mass of more than a million suns. Since current telescopes can't visualize the black hole, astronomers have taken indirect approaches to studying it. Irion visits researchers at a Hawaii observatory who track the movement of thousands of young stars in the black hole's vicinity, where the sinkhole's massive gravity causes them to "whip around" at startling speeds. Irion's crisp, captivating prose sheds light on the study of the universe's darkest objects; this is an example of outstanding science writing.
Posted 2:57, 10 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Laura White
and edited by Brijit.
in Smithsonian
by
Clay Risen, April 2008
Lyndon B. Johnson might be remembered for Vietnam, but the staunch New Dealer wanted his legacy to be his efforts on race relations. Risen details how LBJ hoped withdrawing from re-election would let him focus on race issues, only to have those hopes dashed a week later by Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination and the riots that followed. Risen presents a lengthy, densely researched history of these short weeks that reads like a compelling novel. LBJ comes off as sympathetic and ambitious but ends as a bruised idealist, his hopes for a reconciled country undone by a wound government programs couldn't heal.
Posted 2:53, 10 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Ryan Donovan
and edited by Brijit.
in Smithsonian
by
Claire Messud, April 2008
Novelist Messud briefly sketches her connections to Boston and its suburb, including her romantic notions of her parents' lives there before her birth, her adolescent escapades while attending boarding school, and her return with her family to settle in the city as an adult. The familiar details of a date in the North End, shopping at Bonwit Teller, and pretended sophistication in Harvard Square are cozy if you know the city, and charming even if you don't. Messud's essay is a graceful evocation of the city both in the past and the present, both imagined and real.
Posted 5:29, 9 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Teresa Elsey
and edited by Brijit.
in Smithsonian
by
Joshua Hammer, April 2008
As South Africa prepares to host the 2010 World Cup, Cape Town is still divided both economically and racially more than a decade after the end of apartheid. While much of Cape Town has the feel of a "European playground," other areas are illegal squatter camps, where unemployment and HIV abound. The African National Congress' "black economic empowerment" elevated many black and mixed-race residents to the middle or upper classes, but it also alienated many whites and blacks, bringing criticism that the ANC has fostered the belief that "only blacks can take care of blacks." Hammer's article deftly shows that equality is an ongoing struggle.
Posted 5:28, 9 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Sarah Davis
and edited by Brijit.
in Smithsonian
by
Steve Twomey, April 2008
Prompted by a rise in thefts of rare historical maps and letters, libraries and archivists are speaking out about the trafficking of historical documents, especially from poorly guarded or understaffed public institutions. In this unusual modern detective tale, Twomey recounts how a lead from a Civil War historian browsing eBay led investigators to a sting, a raid, and the recovery of more than 150 documents stolen from the National Archives in 2006. Twomey also profiles the work of the Archives' Office of the Inspector General, whose job it is to track down and reclaim purloined pieces of history.
Posted 5:10, 9 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Laura White
and edited by Brijit.
in Smithsonian
by
Mike Thomas, April 2008
Thomas profiles Chicago White Sox groundskeeper Roger Bossard in this piece, which is either lighthearted or creepy, depending on your level of affection for baseball. For fans, this glimpse inside Bossard's reconstruction of cross-town Cubs' Wrigley Field is a delight; Bossard is a third-generation groundskeeper who is as meticulous with grass and dirt as Ichiro Suzuki is with bat and glove. Thomas attempts to appeal to non-fans and succeeds in showing Brossard's humanity and professionalism. Still, people who don't get baseball certainly won't get the obsession with subtle groundskeeping techniques that provide literal home field advantages.
Posted 5:02, 9 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Tim Merrick
and edited by Brijit.
in Smithsonian
by
Dick Polman, April 2008
Polman examines Sen. Gary Hart's 1988 extramarital affair, the first crack in the longstanding gentleman's agreement between the press and politicians on probing personal infidelities in Washington. Polman ponders the true value of media scrutiny of politicians' private lives, especially from a prestigious newspaper like the Washington Post. He examines those reporters who broke the news that resulted in Hart's trip from top Democrat presidential hopeful in the 1988 election to political disgrace. Polman doesn't offer any real scrutiny of the media, but he does offer a vivid retelling of the historical events.
Posted 4:06, 9 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Elliot Feldman
and edited by Brijit.
in Smithsonian
by
Becky Lomax, March 2008
Writing with an evocative grace, Lomax takes readers along with a team of biologists climbing rock-strewn mountain slopes to study the bighorn sheep of Glacier National Park. The biologists sedate a ewe to equip her with a GPS-enabled collar and to collect DNA samples. The resulting data from this and other sheep has overturned beliefs founded on 80 years of previous research; the park's herds travel greater distances than previously thought yet keep to the same territories from generation to generation. Herds in close proximity vary genetically as much as humans separated by continents -- a fact that may protect them from disease.
Posted 4:32, 5 March 2008
This abstract was written by
Tim Merrick
and edited by Brijit.