COVER
The Year in Pictures 2009
We greeted a U.S. President and said goodbye to the King of Pop. We saw a miracle on a river, faces of war, and the world through the eyes of a whale calf. From Iran and China, a U.S. Senator's graveside and the rings of Saturn come the most striking images of 2009, described by the photographers and citizen journalists who produced them
LETTERS
Inbox
SPECIAL SECTION
The Best of 2009
From animated artistry on the big screen to favorite fiction (and nonfiction) to cerebral country music, TIME's top picks of the year
ESSAY
A Cosmic Farce
In Hong Kong, the practice of feng shui has been cheapened to the point of absurdity