FEATURES

FAREWELL TO ALL THAT: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE BUSH WHITE HOUSE | 88

George W. Bush presided over so many disasters—from Iraq to Katrina to the current economic meltdown—it’s hard to grasp all that happened on his watch. Drawing on high-level interviews, Cullen Murphy and Todd S. Purdum weave an epic narrative, with all the fatal flaws, wrong turns, and missed opportunities of an eight-year train wreck.

A HOLLYWOOD ELUSIVE 102

Since her breakthrough 1998 performance as Elizabeth I, Cate Blanchett has effortlessly conquered Hollywood while raising a happy family and running a major theater with her devoted husband. Over tea, Leslie Bennetts glimpses Blanchett’s life behind the scenes and hears about her latest cinematic challenge, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz.

HOP ON THE HIGH LINE 112

The High Line, the derelict elevated railway turned public park that runs along Manhattan’s West Side, slices straight through Andre Balazs’s new Standard hotel. Matt Tyrnauer discovers how this architectural conundrum produced a spectacular solution. Photographs by Todd Eberle.

CHANEL NO. 1 | 116

Brigitte Lacombe and Amy Fine Collins spotlight actress Audrey Tautou, who will star in this year’s biopic Coco Before Chanel, and follow Nicole Kidman as the face of Chanel No. 5.

FANNIE MAE’S LAST STAND | 118

Mortgage behemoths Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made some very dangerous enemies as they leveraged their government-mandated homeowner-assistance mission into a profit machine. Then the subprime bubble burst, and the knives came out. Bethany McLean reports on the bitter ending of one of Washington’s longest feuds.

MISS JANUARY | 124

Patrick Demarchelier and James Wolcott spotlight Mad Men’s January Jones, who enjoys a different kind of crazy in her upcoming movie, The Boat That Rocked.

THE PRINCESS AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER | 128

As the 60s dawned in Britain, Princess Margaret’s romance with a dashing, talented photographer was the juiciest gossip to come out of Buckingham Palace since her doomed affair with a married man. In an excerpt from a new biography of Lord Snowdon, Anne de Courcy traces the gentleman portraitist’s courtship of the Queen’s glamorous younger sister, and the clash of wills that would doom their marriage.

FAN FAIR

28 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE | 57

Hoop dreams—Kurt Markus captures the Lopez brothers as they anticipate the N.B.A. Rookie All-Star Game | 57

The Cultural Divide | 58

Matt Tyrnauer’s eye for design | 59

Patricia Bosworth pays tribute to Jerome Robbins; Nancy Jo Sales on young Zoe Kazan | 60

Elissa Schappell’s Hot Type | 61

My Stuff: Alicia Keys; Bruce Handy on Ginnifer Goodwin | 62

Meenal Mistry gets coiffed and coddled at the Carlyle; A. M. Homes drinks in the atmosphere at the Plaza’s new spa | 67

COLUMNS

ASSASSINS OF THE MIND | 72

In 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini condemned The Satanic Verses, calling for Salman Rushdie’s murder. But would the novel even get published today? Christopher Hitchens warns of Islamic fundamentalism's stealth weapon: media self-censorship. Illustration by Andre Carrilho.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND JOE LIEBERMAN | 76

As Barack Obama takes office, James Wolcott rates the winners and losers in the post-election landscape.

THE ULTIMATE BUBBLE? | 80

Private equity’s financial alchemists managed to turn debt into gold. But in credit-starved times, Michael Wolff asks which of them will implode first. Photo illustration by John Corbitt.

VANITIES

SHAW NUFF | 85

Dave Itzkoff unearths Axl Rose’s diary; Howard Schatz captures Fred Armisen in character as Barack Obama | 86

George Wayne grills Kevin Dillon | 87

ET CETERA

EDITOR’S LETTER | 44

CONTRIBUTORS | 48

LETTERS The End of the Affair | 50

FAIRGROUND | 69

CREDITS | 160

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE Dustin Hoffman | 162

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