Smithsonian Magazine - 10.2019

2 SMITHSONIAN.COM | September 2019

Corrections: “Inside America’s Greatest Adventure”

(June) noted that Neil Armstrong said, “The Eagle has

wings” after blasting off from the Moon. In fact, he

uttered the phrase just after the lunar module began its

descent to the Moon.

In “Return to the Titanic” (June), we stated that Robert

Ballard discovered the wreck. In fact, it was a joint eff ort

by Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel.

“VERY RARELY am I compelled to read a magazine cover-to-
cover,” a reader named Dave Jemo said of our July-August issue.
“But the wide spectrum of well-written articles found me doing just
that.” How inspiring of the author William T. Vollmann to retrace
Herman Melville’s steps in the South Pacifi c, Jerry Loeff elbein said:
“With new insight I will once again read Moby-Dick and likely his
other books.” The image of Smokey Bear by the illustrator Corey
Schumann prompted speculation he had gone too far in mirroring
artwork by Charley Harper. Schumann, though, says he was paying
homage to Harper. Our cover story about Holy Land tours led by
both Israeli and Palestinian guides provoked the greatest response,
stirring passions on all sides of the Mideast confl ict. Some readers
grumbled about omitted details. Others disputed facts that are, in
fact, disputable. And many found that Geraldine Brooks’ careful-
ly reported narrative was, as Theresa Flynn said, “heartening.”

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area where I have strong feelings, I was cutting off any

dialogue. It made me question my ability to maintain

an open mind—and that’s the best part of any article.

— Mary Jo McMullen | Tucson

Having served in Jerusalem with the United Meth-

odist Church, I greatly appreciated Oded, Aziz and

Mejdi Tours. As they say, “It’s complicated.” But I’m

convinced that authentic peace will not come from the

top down but from the ground up. When more Israelis

and Palestinians are permitted to hear one another’s

desperate stories, walls will start coming down, liter-

ally and emotionally, and life will begin to change. I’m

grateful to them for educating us and their own people.

— Rev. Bob Hannum | Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Moby-Dick, Manifested

About 120 years after Melville set foot on Nuku Hiva,

I did likewise in 1965. For days I touched and inhaled

what I continue to consider the world’s most beauti-

ful tropical island. You can appreciate the thrill I felt

reading your fi ne article, which revealed much about

Melville that I did not know or had forgotten.

— Barnett L. Cline | Blanco, Texas

Florida’s Foe

“SnakeLandia” seems to imply that invasive pythons

didn’t have a breeding population in Florida before

the 1990s. In the mid-1970s, I worked as a journalist

near the Everglades. All the Floridians I knew were

already aware of a breeding population of Burmese

pythons. May I suggest the current seriousness of

the problem is a direct result of Florida state agen-

cies refusing to believe the fi rst reports by Floridians

nearly half a century ago?

— Trish Johnson | Katy, Texas

Building Bridges in the Holy Land
I began reading “A New Way to See the Holy Land” and
thought what a wonderful way to tour the area—ev-
eryone should strive for a balanced approach. Then I
came to the part where it said they were also using this
approach in Northern Ireland. My initial thought was,
“That’s not right, there are not two sides to that issue.”
After a minute, I looked at my initial reaction. In a part
of the world where I have no strong feelings about an
issue, I was willing to listen to both sides. But in an

discussion

FROM THE EDITORS