French worker (Fortune, 1948)

Roger Buquet has a tough time supporting his family on $27 a week. But, compared to most French workers, he is lucky.

By Sherry Mangan

Editor's note: Every Sunday, Fortune publishes a favorite story from our magazine archives. Bastille Day, France's national holiday, took place this weekend. We bring you this piece from 1948 on how workers were living in post-WWII France as seen through the eyes of motorcycle factory worker Roger Buquet.

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Who made the better viral video? BMW vs. Mercedes Benz

Both German luxury automakers have ads on the Web. Which one's more click-worthy?

By Chip Lebovitz, contributor

FORTUNE -- Last month, BMW and Mercedes Benz each released online-only commercials within 48 hours of one another. Both quickly went viral, but couldn't have been more different. "The Catch" features the just-released Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Roadster, a Formula 1 driver, and a golf pro. The pro tees up, smacking drive after drive MORE

How to raise a Millennial

Young adults are taking longer to grow up nowadays, but that's not entirely their fault. A review of Slouching Toward Adulthood: Observations from the Not-So-Empty Nest, by Sally Koslow

By Nin-Hai Tseng, writer

FORTUNE -- Americans like to label their generations. Members of what journalist Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation" are known for their heroic sacrifices because they grew up during the Great Depression and went on to fight World MORE

Today's hot vacation: The anti-tour

The hotel-and-sightseeing trip is so 2007. These days travel is all about one-of-a-kind experiences - and bragging rights.

By Kate Flaim, contributor

FORTUNE – Of the many ways Facebook has changed our lives, one of the more frustrating is how quickly it can take the shine off your best vacations. Thanks to album shares and instant photo uploads, it's now much easier to see just how many of your extended circle MORE

Kurt Andersen brings back the 1960s

Kurt Andersen on his new novel, why the 1960s were so interesting, and who will win the presidential election.

By Andy Serwer, managing editor

FORTUNE -- Kurt Andersen's new novel, True Believers, is both a look back at the world-gone-mad 1960s and a mirror held up to the world-gone-bad of today. Andersen, a noted writer, host of award winning public radio show Studio 360, and most famously (to my mind) a co-founder MORE

Family cars: Not sexy, but selling

Dowdy family sedans have typically been about as exciting as orthopedic shoes. No longer. Now sales and profits are rolling in.

By Doron Levin, contributor

FORTUNE -- Once lacking in sex appeal, the family car is hot again. With U.S. new vehicle sales up 14.8% through the first six months of the year, midsize family sedans models like the Toyota (TM) Camry, Ford (F) Fusion and Chevrolet (GM) Malibu rose 27%. The MORE

The quiet scandal of the HIV home test kit

Did the FDA's former ban on home testing kits result in thousands of avoidable infections?

By Roger Parloff, senior editor

FORTUNE -- A 24-year scandal was quietly acknowledged last week. On July 3 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first "rapid home" test for HIV—a test that people can take in the privacy of their own homes to determine whether they have the virus that causes AIDS.

The approval is an MORE

The Global 500: No borders, no boundaries

Despite financial turmoil in Europe and disasters in Japan, the world's largest corporations had record profits and revenue in 2011. Where on earth will the growth come from next?

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story quoted Daniel Yergin saying a decade ago the developed world consumed twice as much energy as the developing world. In fact, he meant to say the developed world consumed twice as much oil.

By Richard MORE