"Just say 'station wagon' and any baby boomer's brain starts flipping through its memory book: driveway car washes, car pools and Dinah Shore beckoning fresh-faced families to 'See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet.'" Free registration required.

The fatal mauling of a San Francisco woman by her neighbors' dog on Jan. 26 revives the question of whether some dog breeds are more inherently violent than others and should be banned as pets. [Access requires free registration at nytimes.com]

First two chapters of a book by Elaine Sciolino, which synthesizes her more than two decades of study of Iran.