THE TIME 100: HELP US CHOOSE

By WALTER ISAACSON/MANAGING EDITOR

As we head toward the end of one of history's most amazing centuries, we at TIME are embarking on an ambitious project. Its goal is to tell the story of the century, and to preview the coming millennium, by looking at the 100 people who have had the most impact on our world and the way we'll live in the future.

Beginning next year, we'll publish special issues on the most influential leaders, business titans, scientists, entertainers and heroes, culminating at the end of 1999 with an issue on the Person of the Century. Each will also look ahead at what to expect in these fields during the new millennium. CBS News will broadcast prime-time specials in conjunction with each of the issues.

How will we choose the TIME 100? Partly, we hope, with your help. Already, the TIME Website time.com has an area soliciting opinions. In addition, TIME and CBS will host a series of public forums around the country where people will debate the relative influence of those who might make the list. Schools and colleges will be asked to participate. We also invite you to send in your suggestion via mail (TIME 100, Room 25-48, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, N.Y. 10020) or E-mail time100@time.com)

We hope that just the process of debating who should make the TIME 100 will be an interesting way to help us think about a century that saw the transition from an industrial age into an electronic one, the triumph of democratic capitalism over fascism and communism, the horrors of unprecedented World Wars and genocide, the development of movies and television and the Internet, and the magic of new forms of art, music and sport.

Churchill, no doubt, and Roosevelt. But which Roosevelts: Franklin, Eleanor and Teddy? Who was more influential: Stalin or Lenin? Ford or Gates? John Lennon or Mick Jagger? Elvis? Louis Armstrong? Margaret Sanger? Rosa Parks? Marlon Brando? Einstein? Picasso? Mother Teresa? Jackie Robinson? Which ones were truly important, and what will their legacies be for the next millennium? As the debate progresses, we'll keep you updated and look forward to your input. Please let us know what you think.