Anyone do the Cryptics in Harper's & Atlantic Monthly?

I look at those every month and have never figured out even a single clue. How do you approach these puzzles?? Obviously it's not like a regular crossword...

They are all some form of anagrams, hidden words, double meanings, etc. It would take a book to explain (available at Amazon), but each clue has two parts; a definition and a language manipulation. Harper's has the hard copy in each issue (I xerox at library); there may be a way to get help on the page. Atlantic Monthly now has gotten nasty and makes you pay for a subscription and then lets you download puzzle. There is an online forum each month; users are literate, supersmart, skilled in language and funny. Repunctuating the clues is the trick, but w/o someone sitting next to you, getting started is tough. Write me privately if you want more help. My technique usually is to stare a lot and return to puzzle at different times.