in the several year since my retirement , I have come to wait by my trusty old rust metal mailbox around the third or fourth of every month , wait for my monthly issue of two magazine , the Atlantic monthly and Harpers . each in iut own way be likely the best amalgam of intellectual article on a variety of subject one can find in contemporary America , and each feature a stable of highly regard writer and author . for good reason ; from subject as arcane as the suppose imminent fall of the soviet union base on demographic and economic analysis in the mid-1980 to the recent synopsis of former spy Robert Baer regard the evil of deal with the highly corrupted saudi regime , the magazine consistently offer a erudite , informative , and provocative look at aspect of contemporary reality one can not find elsewhere . needless to say , I really enjoy read Harpers , especially under the guidance of editor Lewis lapham , and its article often lead I on Amazon search for tome by the talented author , which in the case of say author Robert Baer , or perpetually sagacious satirist P.J. O'Rourke , or a whole raft of noteable other . all of they lead to some worthwhile reading experience indeed . it avoid the trendy , so we be spare the suffer through the latest and greatest mass experience in favor of intellectual road less travel , be grassy and rather wont of wear , make for better and more satisfying travel , whether trudge through the snow with my Wintertime Dunham Tyroleans or pad down grassy field in my summertime birkenstock . just keep on trucking ! enjoy !