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December 1977 Issue
December 1977 Cover
This magazine has been fully digitized as a part of The Atlantic's archive. Each article originally printed in this magazine is available here, complete and unedited from the historical print. Read more from this magazine, or explore the full archive.
  • Trilobites
    Breece D'J Pancake
  • Gaia: The Harmony of Our Sphere
    Fred Hapgood
  • The Scrolls
    Daniel Menaker
  • Holy the Firm
    C. Michael Curtis
  • Clearing the Air
    Steven Reiner
  • The Ice Age
    E. S. Duvall

The Volunteer Army in Review

Its officers claim they have the best peacetime Army in history—but can it last?

By Drew Middleton
December 1977 Issue

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