February 1990

He didn’t want the job but felt he should do it. For the first time, the soldier who tracked down the My Lai story for the office of the inspector general in 1969 tells what it was like to do some of this era’s grimmest detective work.

Not every memorable historic moment is on a grand scale. Here, a look at some of the bizarre, true sidelights that add sparkle to the larger picture.

Since the birth of the nation, the public’s perception of the quality of public schools has swung from approval to dismay and back again. Here an eminent historian traces the course of school reform and finds that neither conservative nor liberal movements ever fully achieve their aims—which may be just as well.

How Creek Indian number 1501 repaid a debt

Discovering a giant in the family