Vol. 132 No. 5

NATION

A Marine's Mysterious Death
Why was a lance corporal left behind in the desert?

American Notes LOS ANGELES
Monumental Folly

American Notes NEW JERSEY
Teamster Shuffle

American Notes NEW YORK
Rent Me Shelter

American Notes SPACE
The $6 Million Stumble

American Notes THE NAVY
Failure to Communicate

The Gorbachev Challenge
He came, he spoke, he conquered. But his enticing call for a kinder, gentler world provides an opportunity for Bush: to recapture the initiative by offering an American vision for ending the cold war

Crunching Gorbachev's Numbers
His plans for reducing Soviet forces will still leave NATO at a disadvantage

Fresh Faces
There aren't many in Bush's emerging Cabinet

I'll Take Manhattan
How to do New York in a day, in a 45-car caravan

The Presidency
A Full-Dress Finale

WORLD

Canada Divided Opinion
The question: What really killed the Screaming Eagles?

Hanging It Out in Public
Papandreou's peccadilloes may bring his downfall

Middle East Arafat Says Yes (Maybe)
The P.L.O. puts on a charm offensive

Soviet Union When the Earth Shook
A killer quake devastates Armenia, and the West responds with unprecedented aid

Sri Lanka
On the Island of Fear and Death As elections approach, the tide of blood surges

World Notes NORTH AFRICA
Death in the Desert

World Notes REFUGEES
Pawns in a Deadly Game

World Notes SOUTH AFRICA
Still a Prisoner

World Notes WEST GERMANY
Plunge from The Skies

HEALTH & MEDICINE

Drinking Yourself Skinny (Health)
Liquid diets are back in vogue, but are they safe?

SOCIETY

A New Guru of American Taste? (Living)
Hostess Martha Stewart brings her message to the masses

Memphis The Mansion Music Made (American Scene)
There's still good rockin' at Elvis Presley's Graceland

PRESS

Aiming Beyond White Readers
Gannett weaves minority voices into the news

RELIGION

Jim Bakker's Crumbling World
The founding father of PTL is charged with fraud, and more

Search, And Ye Shall Find
When Protestants hunt for pastors, secrecy and prayer abound

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Time Magazine Contents Page December 19, 1988 (Contents)
Vol. 132 No. 5

Time Magazine Masthead December 19, 1988 (Masthead)
Vol. 132 No. 25

BUSINESS

Bitter Standoff in Montreal
Hopes for a GATT agreement fade over farm subsidies

Business Notes ADVERTISING
But Will Lois Lane Buy It?

Business Notes NUCLEAR POWER
Shoreham's Growing Woes

Business Notes PRODUCTS
A Bad Year For Toys

Business Notes TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Ma Bell Gets a Call

Business Notes WALL STREET
Raider, Raider Go Away

Pet-Set Snobbery

The Literacy Gap
To close it -- and to open the eyes of millions of workers -- U.S. companies are spending hundreds of millions every year as educators of last resort

EDUCATION

The Spin Doctors of Admissions

Welcome To Madison Avenue
U. Students turn on the hype to win at the college-entrance game

LAW

An End to Chinese Inscrutability
After years of secrecy, the country's legal code goes public

High Gear The bike-helmet battle

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

A Holiday Hamper Of Glowing Gift Titles (Books)
From Durer to Daffy Duck, the season's selection abounds in the opulent and the offbeat

Critics' Choice (Critics' Choice)

Media Mates EMERALD CITY (Theater)
by David Williamson

Notes From The Singing Detective (Show Business)
Dennis Potter makes beautiful music from painful lives

Speaking The Plain Truth OUR TOWN (Theater)
by Thornton Wilder

Trouble Along the Nile (Music)
An overblown new Aida puts the Met's woes on display

Two Out of Five Ain't Bad (Cinema)
A pair of romantic comedies works nicely, while a trio of ambitious dramas misfires

SPECIAL SECTION

An Ocean Cruise in Manhattan (Travel)
Attack chairs and hidden bars glitz up an old hotel

PEOPLE

The Protean Penman (Profile)
To ISAAC ASIMOV, prolific author, futurologist, historian and incurable explainaholic, the unexamined life is a life that is not worth loving

TO OUR READERS

From the Publisher (From The Publisher)

ESSAY

Some Misconceptions About Transitions