NATION

Race The Pain Of Being Black

The other side of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas' inspiring climb out of poverty was the price he paid for success

WORLD

Those Days Were Horrible

Raisa Gorbachev describes her fears during the coup -- and discloses new details about her personal life

Communism a La Francaise

In a town in the Red Belt of Paris, the party tends the grass roots and maintains its popular appeal

SCIENCE

A Mission Close to Home (Space)

Despite complaints about a $30 billion price tag, NASA launches a vital program to take the planet's pulse

In Search of the Great White Bear (Nature)

A handful of hearty U.S. government researchers brave dangerous Alaskan ice and cold to track and protect elusive arctic polar bears

HEALTH & MEDICINE

Why Do Blacks Die Young? (Health)

The gap in life expectancy between the races in America remains wide. The search for the causes runs from poverty and prejudice to life-style.

RELIGION

SPORT

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

BUSINESS

Wall Street The Dealers Return

Those blockbuster buyouts of the giddy '80s may be history, but investment bankers are rebuilding business on safer ground

EDUCATION

Lamar Alexander: Tough Choice (Cover Stories)

Lamar Alexander claims to have a cure for the sorry U.S. public-school system. Right or wrong, something must be done.

George Bush's Point Man

The Education Secretary is putting his political skills -- and his ambitions -- on the line to sell Choice to Capitol Hill

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Democrats As Cannibals (Books)

Two merciless new books explore why the party of the working class does not seem to work anymore

The Most Snappy Fella (Show Business)

Broadway and the opera rediscover the deft lyrics, soaring tunes and raffish nogoodniks of the late Frank Loesser

PEOPLE

TO OUR READERS

ESSAY