THE military and diplomatic warfare went on last week in widely separated parts of the world, and the significant events and issues involved are reported, analyzed, assessed and commented on in THE NATION, THE HEMISPHERE, THE WORLD and ESSAY. Important as all of that news is, the biggest story of the week in terms of its probable effect on the future of mankind was punctuated by an 85-lb. electronic package orbiting apace with the earth some 22,000 miles in space. It was to this story--the Communications Explosion that is literally enveloping the whole world--that the editors turned for this week's cover.

The first important use of Early Bird (the heart operation seen across an ocean, the international conversations) made quite a splash on television and in the newspapers. What was largely left to be told was the story of the genius and years upon years of faith and dedication and work that led to the moment when the first image was sent on its round trip through space. This, plus an assessment of what the fantastic advance in communications portends for the future, is the essence of the cover story turned out by Veteran Science Writer Jonathan Norton Leonard and Senior Editor Richard Seamon.

TO depict the far-out cover subject the editors called on an artist of far-ranging talent. Rumanian-born Saul Steinberg studied psychology at the University of Bucharest and architecture at the University of Milan, was a U.S. Navy officer in World War II, and has gained an international reputation for his vividly imaginative drawings. He is best known, perhaps, for his regular contributions to The New Yorker, has also been published in LIFE, FORTUNE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and Harper's Bazaar. In his deceptively simple linear technique, he gives life to Paul Klee's definition of drawing as the art of taking a line for a walk.

This week's cover, Steinberg's first for TIME, shows the artist in his more intricate mode of expression. He sought to convey his view of space communications as a maze of reflections of one thing to another. Since his forte is satire, he did not fail to convey the somewhat frightening prospect of man's new capability to store a mass of information and, on signal, send it anywhere in the world. His drawing, both asuming and sobering, is one to study and ponder.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.