VANITY FAIR

APRIL 2013 NO.632

VANITYFAIR.COM

FEATURES

116 TAYLOR SWIFT’S TELLTALE HEARTByNANCY JO SALES Chartbusting music idol Taylor Swift might well feel she’s back in high school, thanks to the public potshots from other stars about her closely scrutinized love life. But the Red-hot 23-year-old is hanging tough as she sets the record straight about Conor Kennedy, Harry Styles, and what she wants in Mr. Right. Photographs by Peter Lindbergh.

126 SPECIAL REPORT: STATES OF TERROR PART ONE: THE HOSTAGE ByRICHARD ENGEL On assignment in Syria last December, NBC News correspondent Richard Engel and his team were kidnapped by the feared pro-government shabiha militia. From the deadly beginning of their ordeal to the sadism of their chief captor, to the ironic reason they were targeted, an all-too-personal story reflects the viciousness of the Syrian conflict. Photograph by Jonas Fredwall Karlsson.

PART TWO: THE TARGET ByMARIE BRENNER When the Taliban strangled her mountain town, a bright, curious schoolgirl named Malala Yousafzai became the symbol of Pakistan’s failure in the fight against extremism as the media seized on her heart-rending blog and real courage. After barely surviving an assassin’s bullet last October, Malala is emerging, at 15, as a potential leader for her dangerously conflicted nation.

133 PIANO FORTE Spotlight on polymath pianist Jeremy Denk, whose musical adventures continue this month at Carnegie Hall. By Matthew Guerrieri. Photograph by Steve Pyke.

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"As far as Im concerned, LOVE IS ABSOLUTELY everything.

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142 V.F. PORTRAIT: SHERYL SANDRERG By MICHAEL LEWIS Silicon Valley’s most prominent working mom, Facebook C.O.O. Sheryl Sandberg, aims her first book. Lean In, at a single question: When it comes to business, are women their own worst enemy? Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.

144 THE RIG SHORT WAR By WILLIAM D. COHAN Hedge-fund big shot William Ackman has faced off against his former friend Dan Loeb and another tycooninvestor, Carl Icahn, in a billion-dollar battle over the nutritional-supplement company Herbalife, which Ackman charges is a pyramid scheme. There’s as much ego as money behind the warring bets on Herbalife’s future.

149 IT TAKES A VILLAIN Spotlight on Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, delightfully nasty in HBO’s Game of Thrones, as Season Three begins, By Bruce Handy. Photograph by Matthew Brookes.

152 A FACE IN THE CROWD Spotlight on Katherine Webb, Miss Alabama USA 2012, who appears to have survived her ESPN ogling from sportscaster Brent Musburger. By Bo Derek. Photographs by Ben Hassett.

154 BABY, IT'S SUE! By MAUREEN DOWD Back on Broadway after three decades, Bette Midler will play superagent Sue Mengers, her late friend, who ruled Hollywood in the 70s. That’s two show-business legends for the price of one. Photographs by Ellen von Unwerth.

158 KING OF NEW YORK By DAVID KAMP In 1976, as treasures from his 3,000-year-old tomb arrived in the U.S., King Tutankhamun's earthly afterlife began. Here’s how a team of rivals—the Metropolitan Museum’s Tom Hoving and the National Gallery’s J. Carter Brown—created history’s first blockbuster exhibition, which kicked off the cultural craze known as "Tut-mania."

FAMFAIR

81 30 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE Instagram captures the Zeitgeist. Hot Type. My Stuff: Frederic Malle; Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin Skimm the daily news. Hot Tracks: Questlove jams on. Ian Barry's motorbikes that are designed to thrill; Roger Vivier's enduring legacy. Spring’s beauty bouquet.

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COLUMNS

98 BREAKDOWN OF CHAMPIONS By JAMES WOLCOTT Watch out for falling star athletes! In scandal after scandal, the likes of Lance Armstrong, A-Rod, and Tiger Woods have been toppled, leaving the sports media and sports fans to wonder what all that hero worship created. Photo illustration by Darrow.

100 THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR BROADWAY Spotlight on the Harvey Fierstein-Cyndi Lauper musical, Kinky Boots, based on the 2005 British movie, as it struts onto Broadway. By Jim Kelly. Photograph by Henry Leutwyler.

102 A TALE OF TWO LONDONS By NICHOLAS SHAXSON Said to be the most expensive residential development ever built, One Hyde Park embodies London’s rising status as an international tax haven, which has many Britons crying foul. An investigation of the complex’s offshore owners reveals the face of the new global super-wealthy—and they aren’t from Goldman Sachs. Photograph by Dylan Thomas. Map by Stephen Doyle.

VANITIES

113 RISEBOROUGH’S RISE Craig Brown goes into the Downton Abyss. George Wayne singles out Psy; Bruce Feirstein’s tips for a TED-o-matic talk.

ET CETERA

66 EDITOR'S LETTER OF KINGS AND QUEENS

68MINUTES POLL

70 CONTRIBUTORS

72 OUT TO LUNCH SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR

74 LETTERS THE GHOST AND MR. FORSTMANN

95 FAIRGROUND

180 PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE ALAN ARKIN

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