It's like Reader's Digest for people who actually have a brain.

Sorry they lost their best editor in Iraq. A wonderful though bulky mag!

In the several years since my retirement, I have come to wait by my trusty old rusted metal mailbox around the third or fourth of every month, waiting for my monthly issue of the Atlantic Monthly. It is likely the single best amalgam of intellectual articles on a variety of subjects one can find in contemporary America, and features a stable of highly regarded writers and authors. For good reason; from subjects as arcane as the supposed imminent fall of the Soviet union based on demographic and economic analysis in the mid-1980s to the recent synopsis of former spy Robert Baer regarding the evils of dealing with the highly corrupted Saudi regime, the magazine consistently offers an erudite, informative, and provocative look at aspects of contemporary reality one cannot find elsewhere.

Needless to say, I really enjoy reading the magazine, and its articles often lead me on Amazon searches for tomes by the talented authors, which in the case of said author Robert Baer, or perpetually sagacious satirist P.J. O'Rourke, or my own favorite, James Fallows, leads to some worthwhile reading experiences indeed. It avoids the trendy, so we are spared the suffering through the latest and greatest mass experiences in favor of intellectual roads less traveled, being grassy and rather wont of wear, makes for better and more satisfying traveling, whether trudging through the snow with my Wintertime Dunham Tyroleans or padding down grassy fields in my summertime Birkenstocks. Just keep on trucking! Enjoy!

the atlantic is one of the finest magazines i've ever come across. as a loyal subscriber for well over 10 years, i appreciate the analysis and thought that goes into their monthly pieces. true, there are times when the topics selected aren't of interest to me, but there is generally something within the magazine that is readable and informative. i especially like the letters sent in regarding previous issues and the responses from the article's authors.
of note, about 4 or 5 years ago the Atlantic published an article on "The Roots of Islamic Rage" or something to that effect. i no longer have that issue (i looked feverishly for it following the events of 9/11), but i recall how it broke down the history of colonialism and partition and how it directly translates into the apathy and fundamentalism so prevalent in the youth of the middle east. given the tragedy of september, their article was incredibly accurate in it's assessment of western policies to that area.

Atlantic Monthly I believe is the coolest magazine out there. It is more insightful than your average straight news magazine (Time etc.) but its really relevant to current events unlike a lot of scholarly journals. And it may be a lot of material to get through but the fact that each issue only comes out once a month makes it so you can spread out their very insightful (and not insightful like the news stations where they all have the same points going back and forth on the same debates, they are actually original ideas) interesting and FUN articles over the span over a couple weeks. They make you think about things you wouldn't normally see. Great addition to anyone's life who isn't brain dead.