VANITY FAIR

"I CAN'T COMMIT to being an adult—I'm not ready"

JANUARY 2012 NO. 617 | VANITYFAIR.COM

FEATURES

IN LADY GAGA'S WAKE | 50

As the only journalist ever invited into Gaga's childhood home, Lisa Robinson finds the pop icon serving up a lot more than pasta. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz.

RICK PERRY HAS THREE STRIKES AGAINST HIM | 62

Fellow Texan Bryan Burrough investigates how Governor Rick Perry went from conservative hero to presidential candidate zero—and why he still has a prayer.

FLASHBACK: THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS | 67

On the 140th anniversary of Through the Looking-Glass, Salman Rushdie notes Lewis Carroll's courage.

HALL THAT JAZZ | 61

Tom Sancton spotlights Preservation Hall, New Orleans's 50-year-old jazz heaven.

HEROES OF THE HOT ZONE | 68

Following radiation expert Dr. Robert Gale into the exclusion zone around Fukushima, Japan, the site of last March's nuclear meltdown, Pico Iyer reports on the prognosis for the stoic workers at the plant. Photographs by James Nachtwey.

ONE NATION, UNDER ARMS | 74

Replaying warnings from diplomat George F. Kennan and President Eisenhower, Todd S. Purdum learns they were prescient: America has become a national-security state.

EXTREMELY LUCKY & INCREDIBLY CAST | 79

Max Carter and Hilary Walsh spotlight Thomas Horn, Jeopardy! whiz kid turned movie star.

V.F. PORTRAIT: REBECCA EATON | 80

Andrew Davies salutes PBS producer Rebecca Eaton, TV's drama queen. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.

MACHIAVELLI AND MOGUL | 82

As Teddy Forstmann battled brain cancer, his longtime friend Michael Ovitz tried to wrest Forstmann's media company, IMG, from his control, insiders say. William D. Cohan hears about legacies and lies.

TIN TIN TYPE | 89

Laura Jacobs and Doug Inglish spotlight Jamie Bell, who has made the leap from Billy Elliot to Tintin.

TRIAL OF THE WILL | 90

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously declared, "Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger." Christopher Hitchens—facing his mortality—questions the maxim's truth.

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LOVE AND MAJESTY | 94

In an adaptation from her biography of Elizabeth II, Sally Bedell Smith chronicles a princess's fairy-tale romance and the marital struggles of a Queen.

FANFAIR

31 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE | 29

The Future House's high style. Lytro's new focus; Hot Type.

COLUMNS

THE BOOK OF JOBS | 34

Re-examining the Great Depression, Joseph E. Stiglitz lays out the true economic challenge the U.S. faces now.

GIVING LEGENDS | 38

Cullen Murphy spotlights the winners of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. Photograph by Jason Schmidt.

YOU SAY YOU WANT A DEVOLUTION? | 40

The face of American culture used to change radically every decade or two, writes Kurt Andersen, but 1992 and 2012 look disturbingly alike.

VANITIES

ODE TO ODUYE | 48

Henry Alford on how to achieve well-mannered Nirvana.

ET CETERA

EDITOR'S LETTER Revolutions and Devolutions | 18

60 MINUTES POLL | 20

CONTRIBUTORS | 22

OUT TO LUNCH Celine Dion | 24

LETTERS Rethinking California | 26

FAIRGROUND | 32

ON THE COVER | 113

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE P. D. James | 120

VANITYFAIR.COM

THIS MONTH S ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

Lady Gaga's evolving fashion, Queen Elizabeth's younger years, and Rick Perry's one-liners.

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