Smithsonian

Ordering magazines from Amazon is awesome you can receive it and manage your subscriptions easy. So I'll review this magazine with the intended audience in mind, with respect to how this magazine compares to other pop culture/Hollywood magazines. Outdoor life magazine is great however a lot of ads in it. The kids magazines are great and a great price also. This is a great give to send to grandkids who live out of state.First, it is true that US Weekly has changed dramatically in the past year or two. The magazine has adopted a British-tabloid style of journalism that has made it a top seller on newsstands. As a result, however, US Weekly's depth on Hollywood, and its reporting credibility has sunk to an all time low. Many of its rumors, unidentified news sources, reports from an insider, etc. are extremely fun to read, but also lacking in accuracy. With that said, readers should acknowledge that a good portion of information may be created by the writers and editors in order to deliver a more entertaining story.Although some of the gossip-like reports may be nothing more than a figment of a writer's imagination (resembling a fan's biggest fantasy), US Weekly should be credited for its well-versed skills in crafting sensationalism. Whether a page is about Collin Farrell or American Idol, the magazine does a wonderful job of delivering a colorful page full of photographs and trivial tidbits. After a hard day's work or long hours studying, US Weekly is definitely a welcomed refreshment.Now whether this magazine matches up to its other celebrity-magazine competitors is debatable. US Weekly lacks the great stories and interviews of Rolling Stone or Vanity Fair, but is a lot more enjoyable than People; it also suffices the cravings of those InStyle fans who like to check out fashion do's and don'ts. Overall, if it's fluff you want, then nobody does it better right now than US Weekly. The magazine's publishers don't even pretend anymore that some of its loyal subscribers are illiterate!*** Summary: If you want substance, look elsewhere (i.e. The New Yorker, The Economist, The Nation). But if you're high on cherry squishy, nothing is better than pictures of J-Lo's posterior or a conversation with Britney's bodyguard. This magazine could, however, pack its pages a little bigger -- preferably with exclusive interviews, and stories that take longer than one night to write.

Magazine content has dwindled over the years and the constant renewal notices that start almost as soon as subscription begins is annoying, especially since "special price" is always higher than Amazon. Even when checking renewal with order, subscription gets duplicated and takes further action to resolve.

great magizine

There's nothing particularly outstanding about the articles. They vary in quality from being mostly fluff to bring loaded with lived experiences / insights. The one thing I dislike about the print magazine is the sheer number of ads. There's a full page ad every 3 pages. Sometimes several in succession. It makes the reading very difficult and at times frustrating. In some cases, they even relocate the other half of a story just to make room for ads. I'm subscribed to other print magazines that run similar and content, but Smithsonian takes it to a new level. Definitely don't care enough about the articles to renew.

Love this magazine the only one i actually read anymore.

Great magazine

This is the best magazine I have ever ordered. If you like to be entertained, educated and informed all at the same time, this mag is for you. I am not much of a reader but I read this thing cover to cover the first day it arrives. I have given this thing as a gift several times to appreciative friends/family. As a WWII junkie, I was really blown away buy the December issue and the story of the secret task force assigned to "gather" Nazi survey information as I have never heard of this before.

I was a charter subscriber back when. But I'm much older now and do not find the tiny type easy to see, even with reader glasses. As a result it is a chore to read this (but not as hard as it is to read Wired!Seems that if it looks ok on a computer screen to 20/30-something eye it is good to go. Well, that's not true. So I am complaining.A lot of good it will do, I realize. Wish a digital version came with the print version subscription. THAT I can enjoy reading because I had increase the type size and reading a long article isn't as much of a chore.

Not worth the money. Worthless and not informative. Not worth the money. Worthless and not informative. Not worth the money.