This week's cover subject, Franklin Spinney, the Defense Department maverick who dares to challenge the Pentagon's most basic assumptions and procedures, can expect several packages in the mail from a small but dedicated group: readers who collect autographed TIME covers. These determined souls track down the address of each subject, then mail off the cover, requesting a signature. Some collectors have stalked their quarry for as long as six years; others have sent as many as twelve letters before landing signed trophies for their walls at home.
The hunt demands both resilience and...