January 16, 2006 | Vol. 167 No. 3

Jack Abramoff: The Man Who Bought Washington (Nation)

From deep inside the Republican elite, Jack Abramoff brought new excesses to the lobbying game. Who is he, and how did he get away with it for so long?

Never a Texas Two-Step (Bush and DeLay)

The Bush Administration sees the former House majority leader as a necessary burden

How to Raise Cash... Disguise Its Sources... And Buy Influence

Choosing clients unfamiliar with lobbying is one way Abramoff cloaked the dubious machinery of his enterprise

Who Is the Real Arnold Schwarzenegger?

A chastened Schwarzenegger tries to reboot his reputation by making peace with his enemies

The Cool Fervor of Judge Alito

Is he a conservative activist or a legal scholar not bound by ideology? Now's his chance to argue his case

Troubled Soil

With Sharon off the stage, Israel prepares for life after its iconic leader. Why his successor will find it harder to make peace with the Palestinians

The Lonely Warrior

Sharon spent much of his life stoking the rage of Israel's enemies. So how did he become their best hope for peace?

Ariel Sharon's Contentious Life and Legacy (Forum)

A panel of experts reflect on the Prime Minister's place in history and the prospects for peace when he is gone

China's Fast-Moving Vehicles

Ready for the next export to challenge Detroit? Low-cost Chinese cars are revving their engines in hopes to become the next automotive upstart that takes the wheel in the U.S.

Next Stop, Pluto (Space)

A space probe is set to take off for what astronomers used to think was the last unexplored planet

Between Two Worlds

Born in the U.S.A. to Asian Parents, a Generation of Immigrants' Kids Forges a New Identity

Great Performances (Movies)

They came; we saw them; they conquered. Here are seven people who raise acting to a living art

Movies: Gong Li (Movies)

Memoirs of a Geisha, 2046, Eros

Movies: Maria Bello: A History of Violence (Movies)

A History of Violence

Movies: Catherine Keener (Movies)

Capote

Movies: Tommy Lee Jones: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Movies)

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Movies: Terrence Howard (Movies)

Hustle & Flow, Crash

Movies: Scarlett Johansson: Match Point (Movies)

Match Point

Movies: Owen Kline (Movies)

The Squid and the Whale

Movies: Why America Goes to War (Movies)

Two provocative documentaries, both from the left, offer their views of motives for the Iraq invasion

Television: Making Monkeys of Men (Television)

Its star charms, but Love slips on a banana peel

Viewpoint: You're Sure This Is How Shakespeare Did It? (Viewpoint)

A (recently arrived) insider's look at the working day of a sitcom writer

Books: 6 Great Tales of the Past (Books)

Historical novels that take you from Leonardo's Italy to Victoria's England

Art: The Misfits (Art)

Decades later, Rauschenberg's combines are still wonderful oddities

How to Stay Out of Power (Notebook / In the Arena)

Why liberal democrats are playing too fast and too loose with issues of war and peace

Fighting Fake Flu Pills (Notebook)

A New Old Therapy (Notebook / Speed Read)

Investigators have found that injecting standard chemotherapy into the abdominal cavity—instead of intravenously alone—increases survival with advanced ovarian cancer by, on average, a remarkable 16 months.

Punchlines: Jan. 16, 2006 (Punchlines)

The CIA Says, Shhh... (Notebook)

Numbers: Jan. 16, 2006 (Numbers)

Olympic-Size Controversies (Notebook)

Milestones Jan. 16, 2006 (Notebook / Milestones)

Iraq: Counting the Costs (Notebook)

Rep with a Wire (Notebook)

Blogwatch: Jan. 16, 2006 ( Blogwatch)

Verbatim: Jan. 16, 2006 (Notebook)

Ahead of the Story (Table Of Contents / From The Editor)