Some of the best magazines in America are not available at your local news stand.
Do you know there's an alternative to the abstract ugliness and vulgarity that pass for art nowadays? You would if you were reading the American Arts Quarterly, edited by James Cooper and published by the Newington-Cropsey Foundation (P.O. Box 326, Hastings-on-Hudson NY 10706). Each issue documents the existence of a thriving movement to restore beauty, tradition, and technique to the place of honor they deserve -- and from which they were displaced by the idiotic isms of the 20th Century.
Do you know that the fire-breathing, man-hating feminists of the sixties are totally passé? You would if you were reading The Women's Quarterly, edited by Danielle Crittenden and published by the Independent Women's Forum (2111 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 550, Arlington VA 22201). The Forum "promotes individual responsibility, strong families, limited government, and opportunity -- policies that help all Americans." The stylish and snappily written Women's Quarterly is billed as "an intellectual antidote" to the misanthropic Ms. magazine, and that's just what it is.
Do you know that most of the diseases and disasters that supposedly spell doom for America are really just hyped-up hoaxes? You would if you were reading Priorities, published by Elizabeth Whelan of the American Council on Science and Health (1995 Broadway, Second Floor, New York NY 10023). The mission of the 250 physicians, scientists, and policy advisors who serve as Council board members is to "add reason and balance to debates about public health issues and bring common-sense views to the public." Priorities does just that, debunking the latest publicity-propelled panics with flights of factuality.
Do you know there's a metropolitan magazine on the market that offers something other than puff pieces for pricey bistros and sanitized surveys of tourist attractions? City Journal, edited by Myron Magnet and published by the Manhattan Institute (52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York NY 10017), is one of the best-written, most attractive publications in the country. Though focusing on the triumphs and travails of the modern Manhattanite, this honest urban quarterly captures the common characteristics of big-town America, admiring the amenities that enrich city life and panning the public policies that diminish it.
One last question: Do you know the best place to sample selections from these outstanding publications, and dozens of others like them? It's our bimonthly America's Future newsletter. Our current issue features articles about the efforts of the Chinese government to buy influence with the Clinton administration, the many dangerous defects in the recently ratified Chemical Weapons Convention, confirmation from former CIA analysts that our Gulf War veterans were indeed exposed to toxic chemical agents, and a special report on the growing movement to curtail the abuses of activist judges. Plus reviews of new -- and classic -- books and videos. For a complimentary copy, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to America's Future (7800 Bonhomme Avenue, St. Louis MO 63105).
