Best of Salon: 2001

Our fearless coverage of 9/11 ranged from Ground Zero to Afghanistan. We explained "Mulholland Drive," exposed Silicon Valley and asked if Bush was a chimp.

Published November 10, 2005 9:45AM (EST)

In honor of our 10th anniversary this month, Salon is scouring our archives for the best stories we've published. Every day for 10 days, we will be highlighting one year's worth of memorable pieces. We hope you enjoy them. And use our automated-letters feature at the bottom of this story to tell us what you think we missed.

Hail to the chimp!
A vast left-wing conspiracy seems hellbent on promulgating the idea that the new Leader of the Free World resembles a chimpanzee.
By Douglas Cruickshank

The color of love
He was a white teacher accused of racism. I was the black reporter on his case. We broke all the rules.
By Erin Aubry Kaplan

The early-adopter wars
Stodgy companies are paying big bucks to learn about the trendsetting tastes of "alpha consumers." But will sales of meat tenderizer dance to a techno beat?
By Ruth Shalit

The marriage hoax
Conservative moralists, alarmed by the divorce rate, want us to return to a Golden Age of Marriage. Too bad it never existed.
By Maria Russo

Bob school
On the singer's 60th birthday, a musician remembers the lessons his dad taught him about Bob Dylan, rebellion and following your heart.
By Joey Sweeney

Brilliant careers: Bob Dylan
At age 60, with a career that spans four decades, he remains one of rock's most eloquent, sexy and unpredictable singers.
By Bill Wyman

Nowhere left to hide
Whether you're in jail or at the supermarket, your image might be shown on the Net, and there's not a thing you can do about it.
By Katharine Mieszkowski

Everything you wanted to know about Memento
A critic dissects the most complex -- and controversial -- film of the year.
By Andy Klein

The book of the century, Part I of II
Although its popularity is unparalleled, intellectuals dismiss "The Lord of the Rings" as boyish fantasy. Now one scholar defends J.R.R. Tolkien's "true myth" as a modern masterpiece. First of two parts.
By Andrew OHehir

A curiously very great book, Part II
Although its popularity is unparalleled, intellectuals still question the literary stature of "The Lord of the Rings." Now, one scholar defends it as a modern masterpiece.
By Andrew OHehir

My name is George, and Im an alcoholic
Nearing the 15th anniversary of the president's sobriety, a fellow ex-drinker tells what he sees when he looks at George W. Bush.
By Cary Tennis

Poison Valley, Part I of II
Is workers' health the price we pay for high-tech progress?
By Jim Fisher

Poison Valley, Part II
What new cocktails of toxic chemicals are brewing in the high-tech industry's "clean rooms" -- and will we ever know what harm they're causing?
By Jim Fisher

Candy from strangers
Teen girls flash some skin on their "cam sites," and fans shower them with gifts. Who's exploiting whom?
By Katharine Mieszkowski

The greatest vendetta on earth, Part I of II
Why would the head of Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey hire a former top CIA honcho to torment a hapless freelance writer for eight years?
By Jeff Stein

Send in the clowns, Part II
How Ringling Bros. minions tormented a freelance writer for eight years.
By Jeff Stein

Running against the grain: A survivors tale
He was 17 floors from the tower's top just minutes before the jet hit. Luck and his contrary nature got him and two friends out alive.
By Ann Marsh

An Afgan-American speaks
You can't bomb us back into the Stone Age. We're already there. But you can start a new world war, and that's exactly what Osama bin Laden wants.
By Tamim Ansary

The bloody Jordan river now flows through America
There will be no peace for the U.S. until we convince Israel to make peace with the Palestinians.
By Gary Kamiya

A season in Hell
Among the rescuers at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center collapse, where worlds and lives are ground to dust.
By Christopher Ketcham

Democracy held hostage
We are fighting for freedom -- including the right to vigorously debate. But the war fever crowd wants us all to march in step.
By David Talbot

Return to Pakistan
On Sept. 11, the region where I was born suddenly became the center of the world -- and I knew I had to go back.
By Asra Q. Nomani

Everything you wanted to know about Mulholland Drive
The scary cowboy! The mysterious box! All that sex! We answer all your questions about David Lynch's latest outrage -- the weirdest movie of the year.
By Bill Wyman, Max Garrone and Andy Klein

Memo to America: Get a grip!
Led by the neurotic teeth-chattering classes, once-brave Americans are in danger of becoming Cipro-hoarding, gas-mask-buying wimps.
By Laura Miller

Terror and cowardice
An expert on courage explains why suicide hijackers are not heroic and why those who try too hard to understand them are craven.
By Laura Miller

At home with the Taliban
While U.S. bombs dropped on his country, an Afghan official and his two wives welcomed me into their living room and talked of marriage, music and his memories of dining in the World Trade Center's starry restaurant.
By Asra Q. Nomani

Ashes to ashes
As the Devil's smoke slowly drifts out of New York, fear and rage and madness walk in.
By Christopher Ketcham

All crazy on the Kunduz front
Greetings from the 10th century, where the Northern Alliance fighters who protect me by day try to kill me for my phone at night.
By Phillip Robertson

Not exactly fatherless
Like a lot of men who were killed Sept. 11, my dad died young and left children. At 7, I made a secret plan to cope with his loss, and it worked.
By Kevin J. Sweeney

Dancing in the dark
I was racing against death when I signed up to write Isadora Duncan's biography -- and winning wouldn't even be my strangest adventure along the way.
By Peter Kurth

Out of Afghanistan
After witnessing the fall of Kunduz and seeing the dead body of one of his colleagues, our Afghanistan correspondent tries to get out of the country.
By Phillip Robertson

The movie of the year
The heroic and epic film version of "The Lord of the Rings" brings beauty, awe and excitement back to the big screen.
By Stephanie Zacharek

New on DVD: OBL
A high-definition version of Osama's "smoking gun" videotape offers extra footage, amusing bloopers and helpful technical information.
By Tom McNichol

All hail Pottersville!
The "bad" town in "It's a Wonderful Life" jumps and jives 24/7 with hot bars and cool chicks -- while "wholesome" Bedford Falls is a claustrophobic snooze.
By Gary Kamiya


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