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An English friend musician of mine from Cambridge days used to sigh with ineffable poignance and say, ‘Ah, the French …’
It was not necessary and perhaps not possible to penetrate further into the labyrinth of complex feelings, experiences, and wine that intertwined themselves and periodically evinced this deeply felt sentiment. It simply was what it was.
So the Atlantic Monthly. What can one say about the literary pedigree, the sheen of the essay writing, the insight into Americana and more? The editors and writers of this venerable journal even understand that *religion* is important to their compatriots and manage to say so periodically without the expected sneer. Time and again, they simply get it.
Ah, the Atlantic …
So fine, so influential, so traditional, so up-to-date, so nourishing of mind and heart. So maddening.
What other magazine could so expertly sum up the Hillary Thing (‘Hillary’s Choice: Why success in the Senate could deny Clinton the presidency’, November 2006); rally a rollicking list of ‘The 100 Most Influential Americans of All Time’ that begins with Abraham Lincoln, includes P.T. Barnum (no. 68), and ends with Herman Melville (December, 2006); offers three concise pages on Microsoft’s new operating system (also December, 2006), and talks about words (passim, back page)?
Only the Atlantic.
Wanna’ think? Wanna’ stay more or less on a parallel track with the cultural establishment? Wanna’ love an essay not just for what it states but for how it’s written?
That would be your Atlantic Monthly.
Canter Bridge 
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