The Washington Monthly's Monthly Journalism Award.

ALEXANDER STILLE

"Textbook Publishers Learn: Avoid Messing with Texas"

The New York Times, June 29, 2002

Alexander Stille reports that the nation's textbook authors have acquired an unwanted editor: the Texas Board of Education. Thanks to a statewide buying process and the political pressure of a conservative lobbying group, the content decisions of textbook publishers have been influenced by the power of the Texas dollar. The Texas board, charged with evaluating books for factual accuracy, rejected two texts that were criticized as anti-technology, anti-Christian, and anti-American. One environmental science book that was initially rejected later passed muster by adding passages such as, "So does it really matter if the world gets warmer?" Stille shows that one man's factual error is another's truth, and leads readers toward a sobering conclusion: The nation's students read what Texans deem proper.

JOHN CLOUD

"They Call Him Crazy"

Time Magazine, July 15, 2002

Through the...