May/June 2006 Editor's Note The 2006 Jefferson Lecture Not just another ice-cream-suit-wearing, pen-wielding master of the statusphere NEH Chairman Bruce Cole speaks with Tom Wolfe about his role as the Balzac of our times. A "Mad, Hulking Carnival" of American Life Breaking some of the rules made Tom Wolfe a better observer. By Marc Weingarten Intrepid Women "Little Sure Shot": The Saga of Annie Oakley A new film describes how a ladylike demeanor and deadeye aim made Phoebe Anne Moses famous. By Caroline Kim-Brown Defining Freedom: A New Style for Suffragists Civil War surgeon Mary Walker began her battle for equality in the women's dress reform movement. By Sharon M. Harris Around the Nation Poised Pen: Covarrubias's Early Days in New York A traveling exhibition opens at the Cultural Institute of Mexico in Washington, D.C. By Johnna Rizzo In Focus Janet Daley promotes reading programs in North Dakota. By Maggie Riechers