STAR TRACKS 6
Cindy Crawford stirs up her own desert storm. Harry Hamlin goes a-courting. Luciano Pavarotti one-ups Sting, and more

UP FRONT

48 Led to Alaska by a yearning for freedom and adventure, Christopher McCandless fell victim to the harsh realities of the wilderness

52 Whoopi Goldberg, Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer and many more raise a glass to (and money for) Bill Clinton

54 What did Dick Cheney, Sly Stallone et al. do during Vietnam? Some got deferments

56 Hollywood breathes easier after NBC axes Jay Leno's abrasive pal Helen Kushnick as executive producer of The Tonight Show

TUBE 61
Carlene Watkins, Bob Newhart's latest TV wife, is—like her two predecessors—a Bob booster

SCREEN 67
A tragic car accident behind her, Joel's little girl, Jennifer Grey, sails back into view in Wind

CONTROVERSY 71
The personal treasures of Alex Haley's lifetime will be dispersed this week at auction

ROYALS 74
At her first public appearance since the topless photo furor, Fergie breaks down in tears

EXCERPT 87
He had "almost godlike power" at NBC. Now Brandon Tartikoff, the man who gave us The Cosby Show, Cheers, The Golden Girls and Hill Street Blues, conducts a behind-the-scenes tour of network TV in a new—and highly personal—memoir called The Last Great Ride

ON THE MOVE 97
Between them, acting sisters Ashley Peldon, 8, and Courtney, 11, do theater, movies, TV, voice-overs and commercials

INTRODUCING 100
For Woody and Mia, it may be the end, but for British actress Lysette Anthony, Husbands and Wives offers a surprising American start

SOLDIERS 103
Tossed out of an all-male battle re-enactment at Antietam, Lauren Cook Burgess leads a charge to honor women who fought in the Civil War

COVER 106
Can big bucks buy happiness? Rich kids like Onassis heir Athina Roussel and actor Macaulay Culkin still face math classes and curfews

HAPPY 119
Epistolary-packin' Nick Bantock pushes the envelope of contemporary fiction

COUPLES 123
In sickness and in health, bit parts and big breaks, they stuck it out. Now, Olympia Dukakis and Louis Zorich are crossing a new Bridge

INVENTOR 127
Habitrol inventor Frank Etscorn found that a little drip of nicotine helps smokers quit

CRIME 133
After suffering a brutal assault, Alicia Wade, 11, is learning how to be a kid again

PAGES 139
Playwright Edvard Radzinsky has uncovered the truth about the bloody end of Czar Nicholas II

FOR SALE 147
The German government hopes that some investor with a vision—and $7 million—will purchase a tiny town called Amerika

SONG 148
Billy Ray Cyrus confronts fame, fortune, fatigue

PARTY 152
Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Lorraine Bracco and other stars fill shopping bags of hope at San Francisco's 7th on Sale AIDS benefit

MAIL 4
PICKS & PANS 13
THE INSIDER 47
PASSAGES 105
PUZZLER 145
CHATTER 154