Table Of Contents
Features
118 RETHINKING THE AMERICAN DREAM
Everyone wants “the American Dream,” but do we even know what that means anymore? While the phrase was coined only in 1931, by historian James Truslow Adams, the idea has taken many forms: the individualism of the Wild West, the social compact of the New Deal, the suburban rewards of the G.I. Bill, and the hyped-up materialism of recent decades. As many declare the dream in danger, David Kamp proposes a different way of thinking about our national ambition.
124 MADOFF’S WORLD
Months after the unraveling of Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme, the man at the top of the pyramid remains largely a mystery. Even his revered and powerful mentors, who trusted him as a son, never saw it coming. With the help of Madoff’s friends, associates, and victims, Mark Seal breaks down the split personality—a kindly Uncle Bernie to some, a cold-eyed bully to others—that fooled so many for so long. Photographs by Stephen Wilkes.
136 AFRICAN QUEENS
It’ll be a jungle out there this summer, as Jil Sander, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, and other top fashion names go wild for animal prints and exotic floral patterns, not to mention beads, bangles, fringe, and feathers. Michael Roberts shows how hot the look can get.
140 WALL STREET ON THE TUNDRA
When Iceland’s alpha males saw Wall Street bankers raking in the billions, they dropped their fishing nets and dived into finance with all the gusto of Vikings entering battle. It didn’t take long for them to bankrupt the world’s most developed country. In Reykjavík, ground zero of debt leverage, Michael Lewis reports on an act of collective madness that has Icelanders blowing up their Range Rovers for the insurance money. Photographs by Jonas Fredwall Karlsson.
148 THE PIRATE LATITUDES
Last spring, Kalashnikov-wielding, khat-chewing Somali pirates hijacked the French luxury cruise ship Le Ponant in the treacherous Gulf of Aden. In a showdown with the might of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s navy, the bandits came away with $2.15 million. From the terrifying attack to the clash of cuisines to the ransom negotiations, William Langewiesche explores this new scourge of the 21st- century seas. Portrait by Jonas Fredwall Karlsson.
154 LAUGHING MATTER: COMEDY'S NEW LEGENDS
Imagine Jonah Hill as George Washington, Will Arnett as Han Solo, or Seth Rogen as Frida Kahlo. Ridiculous, right? Welcome to a casting director’s nightmare, as top photographers shoot Gang Apatow and the rest of America’s comedy vanguard in unlikely character. Jim Windolf figures out why their particular brand of funny fits the national mood.
FANFAIR
61 30 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE The portraiture of Edward Steichen
62 The Cultural Divide
64 Elissa Schappell’s Hot Type; Night-Table Reading
66 Private Lives—Adrian Van Anz brings L.A. up to speed
68 My Stuff—Katy Perry; A. M. Homes highlights Oribe’s new oeuvre; Molton Brown’s body therapy
Columns
74 IT’S STILL CHEEVER COUNTRY
Suburban ennui, the resurgent realm of Revolutionary Road and Mad Men, owes perpetual royalties to John Cheever, who died in 1982 with his literary powers undimmed. Reading a new biography of the author, James Wolcott taps into the turmoil behind country-club façades, including that of Cheever himself.
80 OVER THE HEDGE
Not long ago, almost any hotshot with a hedge fund could live large off his fees for beating the market. Now that many funds are stricken with losses and clients trying to pull out, they’re at one another’s throats. Separating the good from the bad from the ugly, Bethany McLean explains why there’s a future in this business.
100 LONG AGO, IN EAST HAMPTON
Norman Jean Roy and Jim Windolf spotlight the stars of the HBO movie Grey Gardens—Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange—in a second take on the haunting 1975 documentary about an aristocratic pair of East Hampton eccentrics.
102 GREENWICH MEAN TIME
Walter and Monica Noel and their five beautiful daughters were once a nice Greenwich, Connecticut, family. That was before they got rich investing other people’s money with Bernie Madoff. Vicky Ward finds them facing financial, legal, and social ruin.
VANITIES
109 A FIGHTING CHANNING
112 An Ed Coaster video game?; Howard Schatz captures Jeff Goldblum in character
114 George Wayne tries to outwit Rachel Maddow
116 Out to Lunch with James Gandolfini
Et Cetera
46 EDITOR’S LETTER Once More into the Void
48 CONTRIBUTORS
52 LETTERS It’s History, Boys!
71 FAIRGROUND
188 CREDITS
190 PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE
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