VANITY FAIR

No. 554

October 2006

ON VANITYFAIR.COM THIS MONTH: • CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS CELEBRATES THE LEGACY OF ICONOCLASTIC JOURNALIST I. F. STONE • ALEX SHOUMATOFF ON THE MYSTERY OF MOUNTAINEERING LEGEND REINHOLD MESSNER

FEATURES

276 SOMEONE WANTED TO SEE ME? A secret trip to Telluride yielded the photographs the world has been waiting for, a private look at the family life of Hollywood's biggest star, plus answers on why his baby hasn't been seen—till now. Spending several days with Tom, Katie, and the extended Cruise-Holmes clan, Jane Sarkin discovers Suri-induced bliss (and a defiant new mom) at the eye of a media hurricane. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz.

296 UNDER EGYPT'S VOLCANO The "Red Sea Riviera,'' where tourists are shielded from the surrounding poverty and anti-West sentiment, has recently become a suicidebomber target. Escaping to the seething streets, Scott Anderson reports on an Egypt you aren't supposed to see. Photographs by Paolo Pellegrin.

302 ENTER ANNETTE Brigitte Lacombe and Laura Jacobs spotlight Annette Bening, who sharpens her edge as Augusten Burroughs's crazy mom in Running with Scissors.

304 FIELD OF NIGHTMARES Ron Williamson was sentenced to death in 1988 for a murder he didn't commit. In an excerpt from his first nonfiction book, The Innocent Man, John Grisham delivers a harrowing tale of twisted justice. Photograph by Jonas Karlsson.

308 CORGIS NOT INCLUDED Steven Daly spotlights Helen Mirren, who has fast-forwarded from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II with this month's The Queen.

310 COOKING UP A STORM Americans have ditched Cheez Whiz for Camembert, a transformation that began in 1971 with a burst of sex, drugs, and organic mesclun at Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California. In an excerpt from his new book, David Kamp savors the heated partnership that propelled Alice Waters into the foodie pantheon. Photograph by Jonas Karlsson.

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314 TOO HEPBURN FOR HOLLYWOOD Playing the longsuffering mistress to Spencer Tracy made Katharine Hepburn a beloved icon, but was it just another role? In an excerpt from his biography, William J. Mann reveals how Hepburn spun the illusion of "Kate"—patriotic, authentic, heterosexual.

329 STOPPARD WATCH John Huba and Christopher Hitchens spotlight Tom Stoppard's new trilogy, "The Coast of Utopia."

FANFAIR

141 31 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE Enemies undercover—Martin Scorsese's The Departed. The Cultural Divide; pink ideas. Elissa Schappell's Hot Type. Walter Monheit reviews the Spy anthology; Steve Garbarino at the Beatrice Inn; Matt Tyrnauer sips espresso in N.Y.C. A. M. Homes gets Influenced; the Pinkberry craze; My Stuff: Brandusa Niro. John Brodie explores with David de Rothschild. Alexa Brazilian and Punch Hutton pick oysters. Bob Colacello on David Seidner; Night-Table Reading. Jim Windolf remembers The Last Kiss; Krista Smith salutes Flags of Our Fathers. Victoria Mather in the Golden Triangle. Maria Ricapito on the House of Creed; Hot Looks.

COLUMNS

168 POX AMERICANA How did the U.S. go from the bull market of Clintonian cool to Bush-Cheney's menacing empire? Michael Wolff fingers the neocons, Tony Blair, and delusional yuppies who still think they're part of the solution.

182 SAVING MRS. ASTOR That Brooke Astor, at 104, was allegedly living in squalor may be the biggest scandal to rock New York society in years. Dominick Dunne weighs in. Photograph by Patrick Demarchelier.

188 THE BATTLE FOR SANTA BARBARA A staff exodus at the Santa Barbara News-Press sparked criticism of the paper's owner, Wendy McCaw. Michael Shnayerson finds journalistic trouble in paradise.

196 INFAMOUS SWANS Sheila Metzner and Bob Colacello spotlight Sigourney Weaver, Isabella Rossellini, and Hope Davis, in character as Truman Capote's socialite muses.

198 CONDOS OF THE LIVING DEAD High-priced glass houses aimed at status seekers are clogging New York's skyline. A. A. Gill throws a few stones. Photographs by Jason Schmidt.

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204 THE VET OFFENSIVE Take that Hill! Mark Seliger and Michael Hogan spotlight the Iraq-war veterans running for Congress on the Democratic ticket.

206 THE MAN TIME FORGOT Henry Luce basked in the glory of pioneering America's first newsweekly. Trouble was, he didn't. In an excerpt from his new book, Isaiah Wilner restores the stolen legacy of Briton Hadden, who died after six years as Time's co-founding editor.

222 EMPIRE FALLS Historian Edward Gibbon blamed Rome's decline on military overreach, social decadence, and barbarian invasion. Sound familiar? From the quagmire in Iraq to ballooning U.S. waistlines (and debt), to Europe's immigration woes, Niall Ferguson shows why the sun is setting on the West.

SPECIAL REPORT

233 VANITY FAIR 100 Last year: New York, L.A., and Silicon Valley. This year: the world. Doubling the size of its New Establishment list, V.F. makes room for artists, designers, and journalists amid all those moguls. Plus: Guess who says he wishes he weren't the world's richest man.

VANITIES

263 CHILD OF THE CORN Ed Coaster's MySpace page; Henry Alford on the coming of autumn. "Ann Coulter" tells Craig Brown what she really feels; how to exit a car in the most revealing manner. Jamie Malanowski measures the heartland's heartbeat; David Kamp unearths an early look at punk; Howard Schatz captures Sam Waterston in character(s). Andrew Hearst pranks The Weekly Standard. George Wayne and Vidal Sassoon split hairs.

ET CETERA

104 EDITOR'S LETTER You've Got Incompetence!

106 CONTRIBUTORS

119 THE 2006 V.F. ESSAY CONTEST

122 BEHIND THE SCENES

128 LETTERS The Agent Orange Affair

166 PLANETARIUM Healthy mind, healthy Libra

348 CREDITS

352 PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE Margaret Atwood

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