Issue

Ken Burns, the maker of a fine new documentary on the Civil War tells how the medium of film can evoke the emotional reality of history.

For 200 years, the United States patent system has protected, enriched, and befuddled inventors. As a tool of corporate growth in a global economy, it is now more important than ever.

To the end of his life, America’s most notorious traitor believed that he was a primary hero of the Revolution.

For a century now, it has been a haven to some, an outrage to others, and it is one of the very few social institutions that have survived their founders’ world.