Edward Hoagland Finds His Way Back in "Balancing Acts"

Journalist Erik Larson's article, "The Story of a Gun," is the cover story on this month's issue of "The Atlantic." It tells the tale of what happens with a gun, beginning with the maker, to the dealer, and to the murderer who uses it. Larson claims there is a de facto conspiracy of gun dealers, gun manufacturers, and federal regulators, "which makes guns all too easy to come by and virtually assures their eventual use in the bedrooms, alleys, and school yards of America."

A pioneer in brain and memory research, Dr. Daniel Alkon has written a new book, called "Memory's Voice: Deciphering the Mind-Brain Code." He uses the example of one disturbed person to look at how the brain remembers -- a childhood friend who was abused by her father and emotionally scarred. Alton suggests that people like his friend never complely unlearn behavior brought upon by such traumas, and that the impressions made on a child's memory will permanently linger in the complexes of the brain.