November-December 2004

ART FAKERYWhen I saw the cover of the September-October issue, I wondered, Why would anyone want to fake a rather junky-looking piece of…

Fully electronic systems will record about one-third of the votes cast this November. But "Until and unless everyone understands…

In the mid 1800s, Alexis de Tocqueville remarked on and celebrated the multitude of social organizations that dotted the American landscape. By…

The revelations of torture and prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib facility in Iraq may not be over; the Army’s Fay Report and the independent…

Caloric restriction, touted as a possible way to increase human life span, has gotten a lot of press lately. Research on rats and mice has shown…

Mark Feeney’s Nixon at the Movies: A Book about Belief is so well-intentioned, so weirdly ingenious, so full of lively and perceptive tidbits…

Franz Betz as top god Wotan. Costumes for Rheingold were based on "the latest discoveries of prehistoric times."From the bookFirst…

Christopher Monson seeks the author of the truism, “The rectangle is the beginning of aesthetics.” Dale Fink would welcome a verifiable…

The Rarest of the Rare: Stories behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History (HarperResource, $22.95) is a delightful armchair…

A full slate of events can be found in and around the University this season, ranging from English Restoration comedy, science-fiction films…

Our first clue that dining at Dali Restaurant and Tapas Bar would be an out-of-the-ordinary experience came when we called to make reservations…

Earlier this year, Earl and Paula Bracker of Cambridge marked their seventieth birthdays, organized a three-generation family reunion, and went…

1. Delegate duties. Pick family members to contact visitor centers, check out accommodations, and coordinate payments. Assign youngsters to…

Thinking about a multigenerational family trip or reunion? Take a look at:  Books* Family Reunion Planning Kit for Dummies, by Cheryl Fall…

Should Harvard be grateful to Henry Adams for establishing a tradition of Harvard-trained historians who have written about their own lives…

The author of the memoir Gentleman Rebel had much in common with Henry Adams. Like Adams, H. Stuart Hughes came from a distinguished family: his…

Published just as this article was going to press, American historian John Morton Blum’s A Life with History tells how a devoted Harvard…

Thanks to the recent publication of Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr.’s A Life in the Twentieth Century: Innocent Beginnings, 1917-1950, his father…

* Henry Adams, A.B. 1858, The Education of Henry Adams (1907/1918): circulated privately among the author’s friends in 1907, then published…

One million children pushed into poverty: That was the prediction of a widely cited study on the likely effect of welfare reform, released just…

When Benning Wentworth, A.B. 1715, retired as royal governor of New Hampshire in the summer of 1767, he was one of the richest men in New…

When I came to Harvard in 1970, the model for many young people was the wedding in Love Story," recalls Peter J. Gomes, who has performed…

First-time timing: Ages at first marriage range widely around the world. In India the median age at first marriage for brides is just under 19…

Earlier this year, Houghton Library announced one of the most exciting donations in its history: the Donald and Mary Hyde Collection of Dr…

The two buildings of the Center for Government and International Studies, flanking Cambridge Street, give a new look to Harvard’s eastern edge…

Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) dean William C. Kirby has outlined the work on revising the undergraduate curriculum that he envisions…

Daniel Fisher likes to ask difficult questions and, although he is a theoretical physicist, his latest inquiries have led him to tackle problems…

During the 2003-2004 academic year, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) extended 32 tenure offers, just four of them to women (only one of…

Very strong returns on investment boosted Harvard’s endowment $3.3 billion last fiscal year, to a new record of $22.6 billion as of June 30…

Since Harvard Management Company established its current, highly diversified asset mix and investment strategies for the endowment in 1991…

After two years in limbo, the Center for International Development (CID) has at least a temporary new lease on life. The appointment of Kamal…

A $10-million gift of funds for current use, to be expended during the next five years, has bolstered the Kennedy School of Government (KSG)…

Senior Status David B. FithianPhotograph by Michael RodriguezJohn FoxPhotograph by Jim HarrisonEffective September 1, assistant dean of the…

The primitive “boneshaker” bicycle, with pedals attached directly to the front hub and wheels of similar diameter, made its Harvard debut in the…

On the afternoon of October 1, three students with gleaming brass horns, from each of which a banner emblazoned with an “H” hung down, mounted…

1914 Harvard spoils the dedication of the Yale Bowl by defeating the Elis, 36-0. The popular jest is that Yale supplied the bowl and Harvard…

Professorship UndoneA $2.5-million gift to Harvard Divinity School by United Arab Emirates president Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, made in…

Size matters, but elevation matters more. Tall, long-legged Kaego Ogbechie ’05 can do almost anything on a volleyball court, in ways that…

De profundis: Whatever else the football team may accomplish this fall, its second-half comeback in the season’s Ivy League opener at Brown…

The Harvard-Yale football rivalry constitutes a seemingly inexhaustible mine for historians. In The Only Game That Matters (Crown, $24.95)…

Men’s SoccerThe men’s side (4-5-0) posted mixed results against non-Ivy opponents in early going, but lost their first league match, 1-0, to…

Photomontages by Flint Born Some people live at the technological vanguard. They operate their tie racks by remote control and read the…

Great research universities like Harvard are paradoxes. In many respects they are archaic. What other American institutions do business in…

Fresh from a UNESCO-funded summer of writing at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Umbria, Faith Adiele ’86 sits in her office at the…

The way Kim Gutschow ’88, Ph.D. ’98, Jf ’00, sees it, Americans have a lot of misconceptions about Buddhism — especially Tibetan…

Job OffersSeveral College programs match students with paid and unpaid jobs and internships. To find out more about how alumni can provide these…

Comings and GoingsThe Harvard clubs host numerous social and intellectual gatherings around the country. Below is a partial list of late fall…

A Baghdad Harvard Club  Affiliated with the Coalition Provisional Authority earlier this year were Rachel Roe, A.L.B. ’96; James Aguirre…

Harvard Goes South (of the Border)Mark your calendars for the Harvard Alumni Association’s alumni conference in Mexico City on March 1-2, 2005…

Hats OffThe HAA Awards were established in 1990 to recognize outstanding volunteer service to the University through alumni activities. These…

Aloian ScholarsGina Bruno ’04 of Adams House and Darren Morris ’04 of Mather House are this year’s David Aloian Memorial Scholars. They were to…

Football player John McCluskey ’66 first put things into perspective during his senior year. "My mind was beginning to drift a bit,&quot…

"Technology" is a chameleon-like word that takes on the tone of its context, especially where government is concerned: technology may…

Philippe E. Wamba ’93 was killed in a car crash in Kenya in September 2002 while he was conducting research for a book on African youth. He was…

Harvard alumni follow their interests to unpredictable places. Julie Cotler Pottinger ’92 earned a degree in the history of architecture and…

"Your wooden arm you hold outstretched to shake with passers-by."A friend who works at the Berklee College of Music in Boston tells…

Five hundred and ninety-nine buttons, pins, badges, and ribbons, the cinders of old strife, lie at Houghton Library in three linear feet of…