NATION

Elections: The Duke of Louisiana

In a state famed for bizarre politics, an ex-Klansman rides into the gubernatorial runoff on a wave of middle-class fear and loathing

WORLD

Desperately Seeking Rubles

The treasury is empty, the party hoard has vanished. Russians want to know where the country's riches have gone.

Soviet Union: Fractured Hopes

They were heroes during the revolution, so why are they incompetent to stop the nation's slide into chaos and disunity?

SCIENCE

HEALTH & MEDICINE

Why New Age Medicine Is Catching On (Health / Cover Stories)

Fed up with surgery, drugs and quick fixes from their doctors, Americans are turning to an array of alternative therapies ranging from the believable to the bizarre

SOCIETY

Dr. Death Strikes Again (Ethics)

While lawmakers agonize over euthanasia, Jack Kevorkian keeps taking matters into his own hands

Life At The End of the Rainbow

As lottomania sweeps the nation, thousands of Americans are becoming sudden millionaires -- but pots of gold don't seem to go to their head

Old-Fashioned Play -- for Pay (Living)

As outdoor playgrounds decay, more families are turning to cheery franchises that offer supervised fun for a fee

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

BUSINESS

Labor The Curse of Coal

Vanishing jobs, a ruined economy, broken lives and broken bodies. One county's misery testifies to the tragedy of Appalachia's mines.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Extra! Billy Bathgate Lives! (Cinema)

Rumors of production woes had Hollywood gleefully planning its funeral, but the film turns out to be fine

PEOPLE

TO OUR READERS

ESSAY