Jessica Mitford's curiosity about undertakers was "whetted by the funeral trade magazines which opened up for me the bizarre world of the 'average' American funeral, far more curious than the death customs of ancient days or remote tribes. Further investigation convinced me that the fall implications of the funeral industry are undreamt of by the average American, even in his nightmares." Her book, <i>The American Way of Death</i>, will be published this summer by Simon & Schuster.
The rumor of a devil baby at Hull-House draws hundreds of women seeking to see it. Addams explores what the legend reveals about the inner lives of women living at the margins.
A preoccupation with safety has stripped childhood of independence, risk-taking, and discovery—without making it safer. A new kind of playground points to a better solution.
A new company is bringing the engineering savvy of rocket science to the design of women's shoes. But can high heels that are actually comfortable to wear change centuries’ worth of symbolism?
