September 2011

Opening Announcements, Cover, Contents

Departments: From the Editor, Wild Things, The Civil War, Letters, Now on our Website

Departments: My Kind of Town, This Month in History, Around the Mall, From the Castle, Behind the Scenes, The Object at Hand, Q&A, What’s Up

What Ails the Taj Mahal?

The 350-year-old monument shows sigs of distress from pollution and shoddy repairs. How to preserve the awe-inspiring site? Debate rages.

By Jeffery Bartholet

What 9/11 Wrought

The former editor of the New York Times considers the effects of the terrorist attacks.

By Joseph Lelyveld

Road Music

Grab a partner. Rare tunes that tell America’s story are all the rage in hilly southern Virginia.

By Abigail Tucker

Reversal of Fortune

Thank goodness Samuel F.B. Morse failed as an artist. He might never have changed the world by developing the telegraph.

By David McCullough

Picky Eaters

Could the California sea otters’ peculiar dietary habits be impeding their resurgence?

By Jess Righthand

A+ for Finland

The country’s achievements in education have other nations doing their homework.

By Lynnell Hancock

Presence of Mind

The Struggle within Islam: Terrorists get the headlines, but most Muslims want to reclaim their religion from the extremists.

By Robin Wright

The Last Page