Monday, January 30, 2006


We Concur With the Chicago Tribune's Warren:
The Atlantic Monthly Is In a League of Its Own

Because the Atlantic Monthly, one of the first major American magazines to intelligently harness the power of the web, put most of its articles behind subscriber-only walls some time ago, we've perhaps been remiss in pointing you to its many excellent offerings in the last couple of years. But the Chicago Tribune's talented Jim Warren, observing the magazine's 150th anniversary,
calls it "superb" and "in a league of its own." We'd enthusiastically agree. Its wealthy owner has invested millions in keeping it brilliant, and even the death of its uniquely gifted editor, Michael Kelly (who died in 2003 while in Iraq covering the war), didn't slow it down. Last year, the magazine published what I consider the best piece of long-form magazine reportage of the year, a September cover story on how Yasir Arafat destroyed Palestine's hopes. Happily, it's online (here). May the Atlantic Monthly's next 150 years be even better.

6 Comments:

At 1:28 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So so true. They've also moved to Washington, D.C., this year. This month's magazine is amazing. It has an indepth story on the pope as well as an investigation into the state of the nation on several fronts. Enough can't be said about America's greatest magazine.
Kelly will be missed. His book, "Something Worth Fighting For," is worth picking up.

 
At 1:41 PM, Blogger John Ettorre said...

Thanks for visiting, Will. I hope it's warmer south of the Mason-Dixon line. And I'm especially happy to learn about a new reader who's a journalism student. You perhaps followed a link from Doug Fisher's sublime Common Sense Journalism blog.
(http://commonsensej.blogspot.com)
If so, please give him my best. In any event, thanks for stopping by. And I'd mildly contest one point: I think the New Yorker and the Atlantic are running pretty much neck and neck these days as the best American magazines. How wonderful that the New Yorker finally has some competition for that category.

 
At 4:06 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just wanted to second your praise of the Atlantic Monthly. The most recent piece they did on the Pope was first rate. The stuff they publish by James Fallows on the MidEast is also wonderful

 
At 4:28 PM, Blogger John Ettorre said...

Josh,
Thanks for adding that crucial byline to the conversation. As I've mentioned here before, Fallows wrote the single most prophetic piece about the Iraq war months before it got started, noting that Iraq would be the 51st state for years. But he also went on to do three more cover stories on Iraq ("Blind Into Baghdad," "Bush's Lost Year" and "Why Iraq Has No Army"), which taken together constitute some of the most prescient and powerful stuff written anywhere about this badly bungled war. In epic scope and vivid detail, he's accomplished a task equal to what David Halberstam did in the Best & the Brightest with that generation of wartime bunglers.

 
At 7:59 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

To add: I believe Fallows also wrote the fascinating piece on our failed War Games with Iran. If you are nervous about Iran's nuclear capability, do not read this story.

 
At 10:19 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

And I'll third(!) the praise. It's a joy to receive The Atlantic every month. It's a testament to the power, depth, and insight of long, well-written articles that give readers a far more accurate picture of world events than any treatment television can give.

 

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