Civilization - The Magazine of the Library of Congress - December 1997
Front Cover: RMS Titanic, Inc. The World's Most Famous Ship is Sinking Again. This Time in an Ocean of Schlock. Article by Reed Karaim. Photograph by James Worrell. Civilization: The Magazine of the Library of Congres, Volume 4, Number 6, December 1997/January 1998. GGA Image ID # 1109a5ba9f
Contents
FEATURES
- Raiding the Titanic • COVER STORY
The world’s most famous ship is sinking again, this time in an ocean of schlock. A Connecticut car dealer turned deep-sea explorer has picked up where the iceberg left off—with a little help from Loni Anderson and Telly Savalas.
By Reed Karaim - Call of the Wild
With fangy beasts and kiddie goblins, Maurice Sendak confronts the moral complexities and real anxieties of human experience. Writing children’s books is serious business.
By Nicholas A. Basbanes - The Big Payoff
In one of the nation’s poorest counties, hope has arrived in a most unlikely guise. But can casinos really mend a community’s social fabric — and bring literacy to Tunica, Mississippi?
By Laura Parker - Weird Fantasies and Amazing Adventures • PORTFOLIO
The golden age of comic books thrilled kids and shocked grownups.
By Dennis Drabelle
COLUMNS I DEPARTMENTS
- FRONT ROW CENTER • It's Still a Helluva Town
In 1944, three singing sailors took shore leave in Manhattan. Now they’re back.
By Terry Teachout - SKETCHBOOK • Colony Life: Canvases and Cocktails
Far from the gallery schmooze, artists live together, work together—and sleep together.
By Peter Plagens
LOST ARTS • How to Succeed at Versailles
Attention, all spineless lickspittles and slavish sycophants: Here’s the perfect place for you.
By Adam Goodheart
THE COMMON READER • The P.M.’s Empire of Books
The world’s most anal-retentive statesman wants to redesign your library.
By Anne Fadiman - CAPTION
What’s in a Picture
By Fernanda F.berstadt
Other Content
- FROM THE EDITOR
- CONTRIBUTORS
- LETTERS
- CURIOSITIES
- CIVILIZED EYE
Toy stories, Subliminal messages, Great Male Narcissists, Art vandals, Robotic smiles. - BOOK REVIEWS
- MIND GAMES
By Jesse Green and Meg Wolitzer - PUZZLE SOLUTIONS
- LIBRARIAN’S CORNER
By James H. Billington - CALENDAR