COVER

The End of California? Dream On! (United States)

The Golden State has fought the status quo since its birth 160 years ago. It celebrates failure. It is a magnet for innovation. Its obituary has been posted time and again. But even amid a particularly rough chapter in the state's history, the nation's future is being written in California. A special report

ASIA

LETTERS

GLOBAL BUSINESS

Tower of Power (Energy)

China is fast becoming one of the world's largest alternative-energy markets. But will foreign firms be welcomed?

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mr. Vice Guy (Books)

Yakuza, sex, murder. Jake Adelstein's debut is not your typical expatriate memoir of Tokyo

PEOPLE

China's Literary Bad Boy (Profile)

Wildly popular novelist Han Han is the rebellious, potty-mouthed voice of a generation of disaffected Chinese youth. Why won't the authorities shut him up?