HAPPENINGS like the Summer Olympics attract minute-by-minute saturation news coverage. Chronic dangers like the Arab-Israeli confrontation surge and subside in the headlines over long periods. New developments in medical practice often go forward subliminally until they are accepted or rejected. TIME's aim in approaching these subjects, as in all the fields it covers, is first to give an orderly and analytical account of events and trends. Beyond that, whether the basic story is familiar or a new discovery, we consider it our regular task to search out fresh facts and perspectives.

This week's cover story on Mark Spitz, America's secret weapon for reversing the gold flow, goes well beyond his performance at the Olympic Games. Associate Editor Ray Kennedy obtained a rare interview with Spitz that provides glimpses of the athlete's personality and his recollection of a religious slur at the 1968 Olympics. Champions, it turns out, are highly resilient people.

The World section reports on Israel's secret offer of a Middle East settlement, including the Israelis' map-specific plan for the disposition of the conquered territories.

The Nation examines the new "McGovernomics"--the revised program announced by George McGovern--and appraises the plan's politics and its math. Medicine discusses the "unofficial abortion," a procedure being used increasingly to avoid the legal complexities of regular abortions.

Blanket weaving as serious art? Once the staple of the trading-post tourist trade, the best of Navajo blankets have gone on display in Los Angeles and receive a critical look in this week's Art section. As for fashions of a more modern weave, the Modern Living section's Shirley Rigby took the measure of the new popularity of palazzo pants for a story on baggy trousers.

Why are saxophone players disgruntled? The Music section tells of a recent assembly of sax men in Toronto, how they feel unheard these days, and what they plan to do about it. In Behavior, Sociologist Vance Packard's newest book provides the basis for an unsettling look at the nomadic living habits of many Americans.

Show Business & TV profiles British Star Maker Gordon Mills, mentor, manager and name giver to Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and, most recently, Gilbert O'Sullivan. A more serious name game is being conducted in France, where an unusual set of laws encourages name changes for people whose surnames have unpleasant connotations. World's story tells how the system works. Science, meanwhile, reports on Air Force plans to develop a remote-controlled robot airplane that may one day fly actual combat missions.

As always, the news comes from every quarter, and the stories mentioned here represent only a sampling of TIME'S watch on the world this week.

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