July/August 2002 Editor's Note Watchfires of History The Danger of Historical Amnesia Historian David McCullough talks with NEH Chairman Bruce Cole about how American education has lapsed. Working Together Humanities councils are strengthening our communities. By Kathleen Mitchell. Under the Big Top Dolley Madison, William Clark, and other historical figures headline in this summer's Chautauqua. By Lynn Fabian Lasner The Unpredictable Franklin Beyond the Lightning A new film captures the restless intellect of Benjamin Franklin. By Caroline Kim Our Man in Paris Benjamin Franklin's papers reveal how he wooed the French to win our war. By Lisa Rogers Ben and Me A scholar talks about her forty-eight years with Franklin. By Lisa Rogers Ben in Print Thirty-seven volumes and counting. By Lisa Rogers Letters of the Literati The Illusionist--Mallarmé and His Circle Degas, Zola, Verlaine, and others gathered for his Parisian salons. By Joanna Smith Rakoff Around the Nation In Focus Cynthia Buckingham promotes civic culture in Utah. By Margaret Ford