COVER

Person of the Year 2009: Ben Bernanke

The story of the year was a weak economy that could have been much, much weaker. Thank the man who runs the Federal Reserve, our mild-mannered economic overlord

Inside the Fed (Photos)

A glimpse into the rarified rooms in Washington where the Fed Chairman oversees the U.S. financial system

PERSON OF THE YEAR

ESSAY

LETTERS

RUNNERS-UP

General Stanley McChrystal

Soft-spoken but passionately intense, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan shifted the military's battlefield strategy and successfully lobbied for a surge in troops. Now it's up to him to salvage a faltering war

The Chinese Worker

By the millions, they leave their families to work in faraway factories and stoke the world's fastest-growing economy

Nancy Pelosi

No longer underestimated, the highest-ranking woman in U.S. history wields the power of her office more effectively than any other House Speaker in modern times. It's not a wise move to get on her bad side

Usain Bolt

The world's fastest man tests the limits of human performance and carries a nation in his wake

GLOBAL ADVISER

Young Turk (Check In)

An Istanbul landmark gets a slick revamp

A Rum Time (Grapevine)

Artisan producers from Antigua to Venezuela are persuading sophisticated drinkers to sip their rum neat