In this issue
Edition: South Pacific
Edition: South Pacific
No. 36
COVER
Call Of the Wild
(Campaign '08)
Plucked from obscurity by John McCain, Sarah Palin has scrambled the presidential race. An intimate look at how a frontier mom learned to play the political game
ASIA
The Battle for Thailand
A political standoff in Bangkok between the government and protesters determined to bring it down threatens the future of Thailand's young democracy
EUROPE
In Search Of Unity
At an emergency summit, Europe's leaders try to deliver a tough response to Russia's invastion of Georgia. But for all the talk, few have the stomach for a serious showdown with Moscow
LETTERS
Inbox
ARTS
Bad Boy Makes Good
(Profile)
Thanks to an unprecedented auction, the merrily morbid British artist Damien Hirst is about to land the biggest payday in the history of art
Private History (Books)
A new novel conjures the inner life of a familiar First Lady
GLOBAL BUSINESS
Flying Without Wings
(Aerospace)
In Australia, a revolutionary simulator-based training program is about to produce its first airline pilots
ESSAY
Valley of Tears
As Kashmiris again agitate to separate from India, the nation's leaders in New Delhi have themselves to blame

Photos: Ninja Warriors - From Myth to the Movies
Pippa Lee: Robin Wright Penn's Moment
Pictures of the Week
TIME.com's Holiday Gift Guide 2009
Norman Rockwell: The Photographs Behind the Art
Ask Your Questions: NPR's Garrison Keillor
Weekly Acoustic News: Thanksgiving Edition
The Gospel of Glee: Is It Anti-Christian?
Can a Good Guy Fix College Football's Worst Thing?
The Road on Film: Beautiful, Bleak