COVER

The Survivor (United States)

A trusted aide to six Presidents, Robert Gates is the most powerful Defense Secretary in a generation. But what is the Republican at the head of Obama's war room fighting for?

ASIA

Postcard from New Delhi

Thanks to rising disposable incomes, designer hairstyling is finally making the cut with India's middle class. Take a chair in the coiffured world of Jawed Habib

Keeping It Real (India)

He doesn't dance like a Bollywood matinee idol, nor does he sing like one. But that could be why Irrfan Khan is the Indian actor most likely to achieve global fame

ESSAY

Shifting Ground

Beijing's spats with Washington are not to be ignored, yet neither are they game-changing

BRIEFING

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Field Daze (Movies)

The hardscrabble life of Thai farmers comes under Uruphong Raksasad's thoughtful scrutiny

Loose Canon (Music)

Chochukmo's debut doesn't get the production the band sorely deserves

GLOBAL ADVISER

Sheer Heart Attack (TIME Traveler)

Alaska's Chugach Range could offer the best skiing on earth

Wanders Lust (On Show)

A major U.S. retrospective celebrates the Dutch design genius

Gone to Pot (Amuse-Bouche)

Three great hotpot places to try in Beijing

Roman Holiday (Check In)

Villa Laetitia is an upscale oasis of calm on the Tiber River

LETTERS