The Atlantic

The illustrations are now included in the Kindle edition, and they've stopped cutting the questions out of Goldberg's advice column, so now the Atlantic is really worth the price.

I love The Atlantic, so I was ecstatic when I saw it on the Kindle list.

Overall, I'm disappointed. All the text is there, but no illustrations, graphics, or charts. One of my favorite sections is Primary Sources, filled with interesting charts and maps. For some reason, NONE of these make it to the Kindle. Nothing but text. I guess it sounds immature to say, "where are all the pictures!?" But I certainly miss them, and the content is not the same without them.

But again, it is nice to have some form of The Atlantic available. I hope the illustrations are eventually included.

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Since I don't get the paper edition anymore, I've been wondering how complete the Kindle edition is. I didn't really expect graphics, since most other Kindle periodicals don't have them or leave most of them out, but I was shocked when the latest issue of Atlantic in the Kindle edition had a list of the contents of the Election Special, but not the Special itself. Bummer.

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As much as I like the Atlantic, the Kindle version pales in comparison to the physical magazine. There is no reason photos, graphs and other visual elements should be left out.

I also dislike the index, which is just a listing of sections. I would much rather have a link to each individual article and a description of what the article is about. Nowhere is there a brief description of the contents of each article and the titles aren't always descriptive. Clever maybe, but not descriptive. So, I end up reading a paragraph or two before I decide whether or not it's something that I'm interested in reading. Occasionally this means I expose myself to something I might have skipped over, but I would still prefer to have some better cues.

The cost is low for the Kindle edition, but I would rather pay extra for the full experience.

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The Atlantic Monthly was founded primarily as a "literary and culture commentary magazine" for and by local authors such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., John Greenleaf Whitter, and James Russell Lowell back in 1857. On February 1, 1862, The Atlantic Monthly was the first to publish Julia Ward Howe's BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC. Until recently the magazine was known mainly as a "New England literary magazine". The Atlantic too has shrugged off its roots, no longer publishing much fiction beyond a summer special. Things have greatly changed between 1857 and 2009.

I started reading The Atlantic Monthly, or The Atlantic, as they now call it, back in 1963 while serving in the military. Read it all the way through college into the 70s and 80s, etc. While I go back to Elizabeth Drew, Ward Just, James Fallows, Edward Weeks, and who can forget Phoebe Lou Adams, among others, I find today's magazine worthwhile if for no other reason than the book reviews and writer profiles that frequently occur.

As with most magazines of today, The Atlantic Monthly is no better, no worse than most, though much less than it was once. Though it is more colorful than in prior years, it still has a lack luster to it. And the logo, The Atlantic, now in use while new to many readers, is the way the logo appeared back in the 1940s and 1950s. Sometimes I think the high money-bright idea people at the magazine are too clever for their shirts, I mean positions. I really mark The Atlantic's decline from the mid-1970s, various and sundry ailments from which it has never bounced back.

I assume the magazine has changed hands at least once, no longer coming from Boston but from Washington, D.C. I think The Atlantic's guidelines and direction have changed too through the years and doesn't always succeed. Undecided whether to be a literary magazine, a political magazine, a "People" knockoff, or a combination of all. However, as many reviews listed here indicate, The Atlantic doesn't always succeed nor please its subscribers.

But for the occasional 'good' feature and the book/author information offered I will stick with them. And as with many monthlies, they are now reduced down to 10 issues a year rather than 12. You receive 2 combined issues plus 8 others, that too seems the contemporary trend (helps with summer vacations and winter holidays). I prefer The Economist to most other magazines but the cost is far too prohibitive at $127.00 per year. So The Atlantic is my next choice, good or not so good.

Semper Fi.

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Arthritis Today (1-year auto-renewal)

This magazine, Arthritis Today, is good--except they concentrate on RA. I have OA, fibromyalgia and osteoporosis. I'd like to see more on these diseases and less on RA.

Been reading it 10+ years--like the $5 discount.

Have trouble getting the magazines--they've missed 3 months this year alone.

I had been getting this magazine through the Arthritis Foundation but found it to be cheaper on amazon, especially this month with the extra $5.00 off! I am very grateful for this, as it is a good & helpful magazine but kind of expensive. However, the information contained in it is helpful for many different Arthritic conditions, including Fibromyalgia which I have in addition to some Arthritis.

I appreciate the basically upbeat & positive viewpoint of this magazine. It always provides a lift when it comes in the mail. The overall tone of the articles & information is informative & generally helpful, with features about recent research. I found one article that almost exactly replicated some medication information that my doctor had just told me. It was good to see that information in this publication & I brought it to show my doctor who seemed impressed with its accuracy. I would definitely recommend this magazine for anyone with most arthritic conditions. It makes life feel more "possible" when you feel down from pain.

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I expected more content from this magazine. There are so many medication advertisements in every issue.

I am so frustrated with all the ads that I will not be renewing my subscription.

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Before Amazon had added magazine subscriptions, I was a loyal subscriber to Arthritis Today because it is well written, up-to-date, and a most informative aid to those of us with arthritis and related diseases.

Since I am a loyal and frequent buyer from Amazon.com, I was very happy to renew my Arthritis Today subscription in addition to purchasing other products.

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Every issue i get the first thing i do is sit down and tear out all the drug/pharmaceutical ads, and there are a lot of them. By the time i am done removing the ads there is almost nothing left of the magazine; very few articles in comparison to ads. And it is also true that their primary focus is RA, although they do mention Fibromyalgia and other rheumatic diseases in passing. I can't say i have really benefited much from having the magazine around.

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Collegiate Baseball

This is a great read for anyone who really enjoys amateur level baseball. Great articles and great information. I'd recommend this to anyone with a son in High School baseball and beyond.

Natural Health (1-year auto-renewal)

This magazine contains basic and simplistic info on nutrition you're seen elsewhere. Unless you're a beginner who has little knowledge and wants info at a very basic level-go elsewhere. It lacks any real depth. It also has a very inordinate amount of advertisements that makes up the majority of pages.

This magazine has very low quality content. The articles in the magazine are simple, anecdotal and contain very little useful information. The stories contain little snippets from books and other articles but never get into anything in depth. They don't seem original at all. The magazine is also laden with advertisements for Hydroxycut, supplements, and other associated junk science items. So much for "natural health." I would pass on this magazine.

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Like the one-star reviewer, I am not finding much content in this magazine have only received a couple of copies so far, but the latest is filled with articles urging use of various supplements and extracts rather than healthy dietary plans (an article on how to lower cholesterol in particular completely ignores basic foods known to reduce blood fats). Additionally, an article on massage is accompanied by a provocative photo of a young woman that reminds me of what used to show up in "men's magazines". My "Vegetarian Times" is way more helpful with health planning. I'll be letting this subscription run out, and if there are many more pictures like the massage one I'll be getting a pro-rated refund.

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I subscribed to the magazine for a year. I thought about doing another year, and sent in a request, but changed my mind. I didn't feel it was worth the money....there wasn't enough substance (lots of advertisements....even for non-natural products). I got a bill in the mail, but there was no option to cancel. So I didn't pay it. I figured they might send another notice and then just terminate my account. I got another bill, same thing. Then I got a notice that it was being sent to collections. I was appalled that they would do business this way.

There is no customer service number. YOU CANNOT SPEAK TO ANYONE. It is infuriating. The ONLY way I could figure out how to cancel my subscription was to send a comment to them online and hope that they would take care of it. I received a reply a few days later saying that it had been cancelled, yet I just got another letter from a collection agency (NSA) demanding that I pay $20 for magazines I never received.

This is ridiculous.

DO NOT give them your business.

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There are some interesting tips and articles in here. I don't understand the negative reviews. I first picked this up at my local kroger & was hooked, so i bought the subscription. I've never been disappointed.

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Chatelaine - French Edition

I look forward to my Châtelaine every month. The magazine comes well wrapped in a a mailing envelope and is shipped from Canada directly, with the issue being the most current issue available, rather than an issue behind. It is very difficult to practice French in the USA with such a catering to spanish and having Châteline is a nice treat. The articles and recommendations while being more slanted towards Canada and Quebec are still very much French.

Classical Fighting Arts

Along with "Journal of Asian Martial Arts" (JAMA), this is one of only two historically serious martial arts periodicals that I know of. While JAMA has more of an academic overtone and prints articles on a wide variety of subjects, CFA is more engaged in the dirty work of digging up and reporting primary source material and has a narrower focus. My main criticism of CFA is that it has an overwhelming amount of advertising, but I buy it anyway because it is the only place to get certain information and because I value the work that its contributors do.

Please note that the other 3-star reviewer did not really review this magazine.

As a martial artist practicing kenpo karate, kali and jujutsu, I find the historical reference articles published in this magazine to be superb.

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I read 'Classical Fighting Arts' for years, ever since they first switched from the name 'Dragon Times,' and though there is much to admire in CFA, such as the interviews with Okinawan karatedo masters and articles examining the evolution of karatedo since the early 20th Century, I often find more to disdain in this magazine than to enjoy.

Much of the magazine attempts to look like a scholarly study of the classical and historical Asian martial arts, but with just a little closer of a reading, the shoddiness of much of the scholarship, as well as an overzealous sense of Okinawan nationalism, shows through.

Shortly before CFA began printing its articles on glossy pages, I stopped reading it when the magazine took three of their bi-monthly issues to print a single article that meant to discredit the existence of 'chi' or 'ki,' what many people believe to be a kind of energy found in the body. I make no argument for chi's existence, but though the article outlined many examples to disprove chi in kung fu or ki in aikido, the writer chose not to address acupuncture or any of the other methods of chi used in healing that your insurance company covers, i.e. believes in. In other words, the magazine took three issues to tell the part of the story that would make kung-fu and aikido look bad, leaving the rest of the story untold.

I recently gave the magazine another chance with their Summer 2009 issue, and the shoddy scholarship let me down again. An article on Chinese martial virtue, 'wude,' attempted to dismiss the individualism of Chinese martial arts fiction with the single historical example of the Red Spear Society, a rural militia from the early 20th Century that was steeped in a Confucian concern for the group.

Though the article takes the time to describe the 'Wu Lin' of martial arts fiction and even uses the term 'swordsman,' the writers choose to completely ignore the Chinese term for swordsman: 'xia,' a word used to describe the type of fiction ('wuxia') they use for examples of false wude. Xia was also an actual class of rogue warrior described in 'The Records of the Grand Historian' one of the Four Chinese Classics by Sima Qian (145 or 135-86 BC).

This is basic stuff in Chinese history. To say that individualistic swordsmen never lived in China is to say that gunslingers never lived in the Wild West. There are historical records of both. To discredit the wude of xia with reference to an obscure, rural militia is agenda-driven scholarship, akin to the type of nationalistic propaganda written by Nazis in the 1930s.

I'm not Chinese, nor do I study classical kung-fu. Over the years I have really really tried to like this magazine (that's what the second star is for) but the petty nationalism, and sometimes blatant racism (read anything printed in CFA on Tae Kwon Do) consistently prevents me from liking or recommending this martial arts magazine.

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Pontoon & Deckboat

I don't know what these other reviewers are talking about. I think this magazine is WELL worth the price. Lots of variety, good articles, new product info, photos, boats, etc. I've learned a LOT compared to what the subscription cost, and I look forward to getting it.

And I've YET to see a $100,000 pontoon boat inside. I think a competitor is trashing this magazine.

We tried other boating magazines, but this is the only one that caters specifically to pontoon boats. I was tired of reading about yachts, cruisers, etc, in other publications and luckily I stumbled upon PDB Magazine at the doctor's office. Even the fishing articles are specific to pontoon boats, you really can't beat it. If you own a pontoon boat or are interested in maybe having one in the future, this is a must-read magazine.

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Unless your looking for a $100,000.00 toon don't waste your money. All articles seem to be copy paste from manufacture.

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I am not impressed with this Magazine at all..Nothing exciting, I also understand they have a forum that is in uproar. Lot of censoring and post deletion is going on.. It seems that the real knowledgeable tooners left that forum and cancelled their PDB subscription as well..

They don't seem to understand what "Customer Satisfaction" is all about..

I cancelled my subscription..

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I bought a pontoon boat in 2006 and searched for a forum site to chat with other pontoon boat owners. I found PDB's site, then subscribed to the magazine.

Turns out, it's 99 percent advertisements for boats over 100k and that's about it. Not worth my money at all. I complained to the editor, Brady L. Kay about the magazine and he went off on me about it being "taboo" to criticize the magazine on his site.

I held out for a few more issues, same thing and then I stopped getting issues and had to call and have another copy sent....a real pain to get the magazine delivered on time.

Go elsewhere...trust me.