COVER

Time Frames

The end of history? More like the start. The 21st century runs on fast-forward, and the only way to keep up is to stop and figure out what really happened

2000: A Nation Divided

The 36-day battle over the Florida ballots was only the first test of faith in our officials and institutions

Instant Icons: Life After the Headlines

They became famous overnight not for glamour or riches or simply being famous but for the explosive public issues they represented. Caught up in forces larger than themselves, they gave a human face to confounding situations like Iraq, Katrina and Cuba

ESSAY

My Continuing Education (In the Arena)

No columnist nails every call. Here's one I got wrong — and why I should have known better

Where Is Our Deliverance? (Viewpoint)

Black America expected more from Obama, but the radical agenda of the Struggle is obsolete

TO OUR READERS

The Long View

The news cycle propels us ever forward. But at the end of an extraordinary decade, TIME looks back at the stories that mattered most

LETTERS