Time Magazine Contents Page

COVER STORIES

16

HOSTAGES: Back from Hell

Free at last, they tell their harrowing tales of horror and courage

The Mysterious Mr. Picco

How he helped rescue the captives

What Did the U.S. Learn?

Circumstances, not men, did the trick

30

NATION: Big Trial on the Small Screen

Willie Smith has his day in court

Sununu Gets the Boot

But can Bush revive his presidency?

Hail to the New Chief of Staff

Skinner is a low-key troubleshooter

40

WORLD: Soviet Nukes on the Loose

The West wonders who has control

Will Others Get the Bomb?

Third World regimes stand poised

The Population Minefield

Why won't Bush help contain growth?

54

BUSINESS: Maxwell's House of Cards

Entangled in chaos, the media mogul's debt-ridden empire collapses

Caught in the Ringer

Federal agents trap one of the world's most wanted drug-money launderers

SOCIETY Why teens are on a dangerous drinking binge 64

MEDICINE Another use for aspirin: preventing colon cancer

66

THEATER The Broadway season's only new musical is a dog 67

PROFILE Robin Williams does a riff about growing up at 40

70

CINEMA Hook, Steven Spielberg's Peter Pan remake, doesn't have wings 74

LIVING Would you believe poetry as an alternative to rock 'n' roll? 76

MUSIC The unforgettable jazz of Nat King Cole 78

TELEVISION Play by Play is the year's most exhilarating documentary 79

BOOKS Deck the shelves with sumptuous volumes 81

ESSAY Barbara Ehrenreich explains why welfare is a problem for whites 84

DEPARTMENTS

GRAPEVINE 15

LETTERS 6 PEOPLE 63

CRITICS' VOICES 10 MILESTONES 67

COVER Photograph by Al Jawad -- SIPA Press