Time Magazine Contents Page
14
COVER: Once again, the U.S. is caught up in the hostage agony
After Israel kidnaps a Shi'ite leader, terrorists announce the execution of one American and threaten another. George Bush works diplomatic channels and ponders a military strike, but the painful fact remains: the U.S. still has no effective way to deal with hostage taking. This time, however, there is a tantalizing glimpse of hope -- the prospect of Iran's cooperation. See NATION.
34
WORLD: The dogma of V.I. Lenin slips off its pedestal as perestroika brings revolutionary changes to Soviet politics
In the Congress of People's Deputies, reformers take a historic stand against party rule, while scholars call into question the founder of the Soviet state. -- Denis Thatcher, the British Prime Minister's husband, keeps a stiff upper lip in public. -- Poland narrowly avoids political chaos again as the Communist's Czeslaw Kiszczak is chosen to be Prime Minister, while food prices soar.
50
BUSINESS: If the economy goes south, debt-heavy leveraged buyouts could be the first corporate victims
The spectacular failure of some billion-dollar LBOS dramatizes the problems that could befall a number of overextended companies in the event of a slump. -- After a 2 1/2-year undercover probe, the Justice Department indicts 46 Chicago commodities traders on charges ranging from fraud to racketeering. -- A shortsighted proposal to cut capital-gains taxes gathers momentum.
44
LAW: Chipping away at South Africa's apartheid
Drawing upon U.S. help and experience, local legal activists are turning to the courts to help crack open the complex system of racial discrimination.
46
EDUCATION: Facing the challenge of reform
Three states -- Arkansas, South Carolina and West Virginia -- have made bold attempts to improve schools. Their efforts provide valuable lessons for others.
56
MEDICINE: A hard look at sex hormones
Estrogen-based drugs intended to ease the toll of menopause are linked to breast cancer. -- A new study shows that AZT can slow the onset of AIDS.
62
PROFILE: Finding drama in collisions of East and West
Most U.S. playwrights focus on home and hearth, but David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) has become an international hit portraying political megatrends.
80
LIVING: August, for all its leisurely pleasures, is a month best spent underwater. Here's how
Traditional wateringholes are flooded with visitors in search of rivers to raft down, cliffs to leap from, lakes to tube across and waterfalls to shower beneath. But for those with something more elaborate in mind, the designers at Disney present Typhoon Lagoon and Splash Mountain, the ultimate in amusement parks.
71
RELIGION: A tempest over the Dead Sea scrolls
After three decades, much of the century's most fabled archaeological find remains unpublished and jealously guarded. A crusade is launched to release it.
82
ESSAY: Why Helms is wrong about aid for the arts
Market Darwinism often condemns admirable art to obscurity. We need more federal aid to prime the cultural pump -- even if some of it goes to artists who offend.
6 Critics' Choice
11 Letters
45 Press
65 People
68 Books
70 Art
76 Video
76 Milestones
78 Cinema
Cover: Hostage photographs by: A.F.P., AP, Gamma/Liaison, Sipa, Sygma and Worldwide Television News