Three Good Reads

Seed Magazine isn't exactly a household name, but perhaps it should be. In this article, it offers up a great look at Craig Venter, the strongwilled (some would say imperious) man behind the sequencing of the human genome project. Rolling Stone magazine is, of course, a household name, and while at a month old, this piece on the struggle over the Minnesota senatorial recount is dated, it's still quite worthwhile. Here, The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn wonderfully describes how the American auto industry has reached its current sad state, by tracing the real history of the Big Three and the 58-year-old "Treaty of Detroit," which helped create the American middle class. Finally, as a new year bonus, we bring you our sentimental favorite, this lovely little piece about a struggling small-town newspaper, from Dan Barry's routinely wonderful This Land series in the New York Times. If you can stand any additional reading, you're welcome to review earlier TGRs here.