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