COVER

Chris Christie Was Born to Run (Nation)

He won re-election in New Jersey with a campaign act designed to win the presidency in 2016. Why the New Jersey governor ain't going away anytime soon

EDITOR'S DESK

COMMENTARY

FEATURES

What Holds Him Back (Nation)

Mitt Romney was zeroing in on Chris Christie as his running mate-until Romney's team started digging into the New Jersey governor's records

Why China Can't Create Anything (World)

The country is getting rich but unless it can learn to innovate, its economy will never overtake the United States

BRIEFING

Virginia (Nation)

The Old Dominion goes blue

THE CULTURE

The Gods of Food

TIME picks the people who most influence what we eat-and how we think about it

Eat, memory

Recent food memoirs that serve up unfamiliar worlds via the intimacy of eating

Sweet Finish

Don't skip dessert if you have a chance to taste the work of these three pastry chefs

Burger Heaven

Burgers have been violated by foie gras and supersizing. These spots stick to the perfect basics

The Dudes of Food

Alex Atala of São Paulo, René Redzepi of Copenhagen and David Chang of New York

Quinoa Chaufa

Chaufa, the stir-fry style introduced to Peru by Chinese migrants, gets a quinoa twist from chef Gastón Acurio in his Lima restaurant La Mar