In this issue
Edition: Asia

Vol. 175, No. 6



COVER

The Survivor (United States)

By ELIZABETH RUBIN

A trusted aide to six Presidents, Robert Gates is the most powerful Defense Secretary in a generation.

But what is the Republican at the head of Obama's war room fighting for?



ASIA

Postcard from New Delhi

By CARLA POWER

Thanks to rising disposable incomes, designer hairstyling is finally making the cut with India's middle class.

Take a chair in the coiffured world of Jawed Habib

Keeping It Real (India)

By JYOTI THOTTAM / ROORKEE

He doesn't dance like a Bollywood matinee idol, nor does he sing like one.

But that could be why Irrfan Khan is the Indian actor most likely to achieve global fame



ARTS

Field Daze (Movies)

By JOHN KRICH

The hardscrabble life of Thai farmers comes under Uruphong Raksasad's thoughtful scrutiny

Loose Canon (Music)

By LIAM FITZPATRICK

Chochukmo's debut doesn't get the production the band sorely deserves



GLOBAL ADVISER

Sheer Heart Attack (TIME Traveler)

By SIMON KELTON

Alaska's Chugach Range could offer the best skiing on earth

Wanders Lust (On Show)

By DAVID KAUFMAN

A major U.S. retrospective celebrates the Dutch design genius

Gone to Pot (Amuse-Bouche)

By LILLIAN CHOU

Three great hotpot places to try in Beijing

Roman Holiday (Check In)

By WILLIAM LEE ADAMS

Villa Laetitia is an upscale oasis of calm on the Tiber River

ESSAY

Shifting Ground

By JEFFREY WASSERSTROM

Beijing's spats with Washington are not to be ignored, yet neither are they game-changing