Table of Contents

LETTER FROM JERUSALEM: A lull in bombing attacks and the big new wall bring a tentative calm to a tormented city. But how long can the quiet last? 8

LETTERS 12

NOTEBOOK

Arafat feels the heat; Sandy Berger and the 9/11 report; stumping with the Kerry-Heinz clan; female Governors provide a boost for the Dems; a library of Trump books; taking stock in Shrek 15

MILESTONES: A dissident freed, a former President charged, a choreographer and a composer die 19

COVER STORY

How Kerry Thinks Both nimble and deliberate, the candidate's mind is a complex thing 20

WIVES' CLUB: Up close with Teresa and Elizabeth 30

KERRY'S TEAM: The candidate maintains a big inner circle, but just who is the Karl Rove? 34

LOVE-HATE STATE: They vote for Kerry in Massachusetts, but they aren't thrilled about him 38

WORLD

THE VERDICT ON 9/11 A stark report on what went wrong and how to fix it. But will the reforms be implemented? 53

SECURITY UPDATE: We may be safer than we were, but there are lots of holes 58

THE BOOK ON THE BOOK: The report is a riveting--and dispiriting--read 60

SCIENCE

HAWKING PAYS OFF A superstar physicist revamps his theory of black holes 65

BUSINESS

CHIC ON THE CHEAP Counterfeit purses and other luxury items can be big business. But at last a crackdown is beginning 68

SOCIETY

NOT YOUR MOTHER'S HOME EC What was once the Future Homemakers of America now teaches girls--and boys--about life outside the kitchen 72

ARTS & MEDIA

HORROR GROWS UP With movies like The Village and Open Water, you can queue up for the chills and still respect yourself in the morning 74

MUSIC: Excellent gay pop from the Scissors Sisters 78

BOOKS: Hamlet meets Beowulf in Something Rotten 80

MOVIES: An affecting look at the ugly world of drug smuggling 81

YOUR TIME

LIFESTYLE: A graphic novel imagines black secession; the mango marries the nectarine 83

HEALTH: Tapping the brakes on Alzheimer's; poetry for the heart 84

MONEY: Schwab shake-up; healthier cocktails; stealthier surfing 87

PEOPLE: Jimmy Buffett at No. 1; the Gore girl vs. the pinup 89

ESSAY: Nancy Gibbs on the wisdom of blue laws 90

COVER: Photograph for TIME by Diana Walker. INSET: Photograph for TIME by Callie Shell--Aurora