Vol. 171 No. 20
COVER
Barack Obama has refused to play by the old political rules. He's about to be rewarded for it
NATION
Trounced in his first big race, Barack Obama retooled and won a Senate seat. How the ward politics in Chicago gave Obama an education that has earned him a shot at the presidency
The Five Mistakes Clinton Made (The Well / Campaign '08)
Hillary Clinton began the race with all sorts of advantages, but she and her advisers never grasped how much had changed
ESSAY
Congress voted to ban genetic discrimination. But how much equality do we really want?
WORLD
At 60, Israel has established itself as a vibrant democracy in a hostile neighborhood. So why are its people so divided about its future?
Burma's Second Agony (The Well / World)
Months after a brutal military crackdown, the impoverished Asian country is devastated by a cyclone. A look at a nation's calamity
Why the World Can't Afford Food (The Well / World)
And why higher prices are here to stay
Postcard: Omaha (Postcard: Omaha)
It's a scary time for the economy, but Warren Buffett is as calm as ever--and his annual shareholders' meeting is just as festive. The world's greatest investor throws a party
NOTEBOOK
The Last Lap. (Briefing / The Moment)
A filly's tragic end casts a grim spotlight on the sport of kings
Dashboard (Briefing)
Milestones (Briefing)
Verbatim
SCIENCE
The more we study the workings of memory, the more we understand why it so often fails. The good news: it may be in your control
SOCIETY
As the presidential candidates spar over prices at the pump, here's a smart guide to cutting back
Growing Up Green (Parenting)
No way around it: your child is an environmental disaster. How eco-parenting can ease the impact
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The summer's first two blockbusters provide glimpses of the future of movies
The New James Frey: A Review (Arts: Movies - Books - Culture - Downtime / Books)
Oprah's whipping boy is back with a novel that isn't a memoir, but is entertaining despite itself
Martial Arting With David Mamet (Culture)
In which a Pulitzer Prize winner tries to teach me a choke hold
Recount: New Docudrama Could Influence Election (Tuned In)
An accidentally timely docudrama shows how the election of 2000 led to the obsessions of 2008
5 Things You Should Know About. (Arts: Movies - Books - Culture - Downtime / Downtime)
A Vegas wedding, French lovers and songs of dismay from young and old
The Classy Quickie (Arts: Movies - Books - Culture - Downtime / Downtime)
SPECIAL SECTION
Analysis: Complaints in America about China鈥檚 trade practices recall another fit of paranoia about another rising Asia power
PEOPLE
She's won the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes and recently received the PEN/Borders Literary Service Award. A new collection of her nonfiction, What Moves at the Margin, is out now. Toni Morrison will now take your questions
Jhumpa Lahiri: The Quiet Laureate (The Well / Profile)
How did Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth, a book of short stories about Bengali immigrants, become a No. 1 best seller? She has no idea either