• NY Times, Tuesday, November 15, 2005 12:48 PM

It's about time. Lewis Lapham, 70, has announced he will step down as editor of Harper's magazine after 30 years at the helm. The magazine, once an influential book among the smart set, has fallen behind in recent years. Its major mission, it has seemed, has been self-survival. Lapham, a brilliant and prolific intellectual, appeared to have little interest in keeping pace with more modern magazines in his competitive set. At one time, Harper's and The Atlantic Monthly were neck-and-neck rivals, but no longer, at least not in the mindset of readers. The Atlantic, having received an infusion of cash from a new owner, has forged ahead, winning awards and advertisers on the basis of a revitalized editorial department. Harper's played it safe, resisting change, and consequently stagnated. This morning's New York Times said Lapham "expected a new editor would be named within a month and that the person would retain the character of Harper's, a 155-year-old monthly. He described the magazine this way: 'It's about inquiry. It's not about the promulgation of the truth, it's about a search for the truth.'"

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