Features from Harpers Magazine, the award-winning journal of opinion, are posted here every week. At the beginning of the month, we feature the acclaimed "Harpers Index," a collection of about 40 one-line statistics collected from diverse sources, providing a sounding of the spirit of the times.

Other selections come from the other sections of the magazine: "Findings," a compendium of medical, scientific, and environmental absurdities drawn from recent reports; "Readings," a medley of notable shorter works, including essays, letters, poems and artwork; "Essay," full-length explorations of contemporary subjects by well-known, highly regarded writers; "Reviews," a round-up of short reviews of new books by acclaimed critic John Leonard, followed by longer critiques by other writers; and "Briefings," a series of brief articles on topics apt to be overlooked by the major media but likely to suggest answers about our national identity.

Harpers is known for balancing coverage of political, social, economic and cultural themes with essays and fiction by distinguished writers and promising new voices. Founded in 1850, Harpers Magazine today boasts a monthly circulation of over 225,000. Over the years, Harpers has published the writings of such notables as Mark Twain, Theodore Dreiser, Henry James, Jack London, Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt.

Recent Columns

5/7/2008 Harper's Index  by Harpers Magazine Number of U.S. presidential elections so far in which the two major-party nominees were both sitting senators : 0 Number of Senate bills that John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have co-sponsored together since 2005 : 86 Rank that the age gap between McCain and Obama would hold among the largest ever between nominees : 1 Ratio o ... READ MORE 4/30/2008 Knowing Is Half The Battle  by Harpers Magazine Stick figure wearing gear: This is American soldier Joe. He wants to win in Al Anbar, but sometimes it seems like other people don't share that idea. Stick figure with mustache wearing gear: This is Mohammed. He's in the Iraqi Army. He has a lot of the same problems that Joe has fighting in Anbar, except that everyone there hates him. Sti ... READ MORE 4/23/2008 Findings  by Harpers Magazine A team of scientists at Newcastle University created human embryos by combining the genetic material of one man and two women, another team of scientists at Newcastle University discovered how to create sperm from the bone-marrow cells of women, and Brazilian scientists created egg cells from the embryonic stem cells of male mice. Zoolog ... READ MORE

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