Taking stock of people and ideas in the news.

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• Man of the Year An extraordinary life.
  David Plotz Dec. 21, 1997
  
• Santa Claus Building a better Father Christmas.
  David Plotz Dec. 14, 1997
  
• Francis Ford Coppola How a Godfather became a Rainmaker.
  David Plotz Dec. 7, 1997
  
• Bill Parcells The New York Jets coach is pro football's great dictator.
  David Plotz Nov. 28, 1997
  
• The Spice Girls Cherish these cheeky hucksters before they're gone.
  David Plotz Nov. 16, 1997
  
• Barry Scheck O.J. got off, the nanny didn't. They couldn't have asked for a better lawyer.
  David Plotz Nov. 9, 1997
  
• The New Pol Pot A former world leader reflects on his hopes, his regrets, and his place in history.
  David Plotz Nov. 2, 1997
  
• Booker Snooker How Arundhati Roy exploited India chic and colonial guilt to win literature's big prize.
  Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan Oct. 26, 1997
  
• Los Angeles Times Publisher Mark Willes In praise of the "cereal killer."
  David Plotz Oct. 19, 1997
  
• Steve Coz Can the National Enquirer's editor sell respectability--and papers?
  David Plotz Oct. 12, 1997
  
• Frank Sinatra Can even Death stop Ol' Blue Eyes?
  David Plotz Oct. 5, 1997
  
• El Niño Perfect weather for a conspiracy.
  David Plotz Sept. 28, 1997
  
• Susan Carpenter-McMillan The woman who ate Paula Jones.
  David Plotz Sept. 21, 1997
  
• Charles, Earl Spencer How did a tabloid-savvy nobleman become a populist press critic?
  David Plotz Sept. 14, 1997
  
• Al Dunlap The chainsaw capitalist.
  David Plotz Aug. 31, 1997
  
• Ron Carey A more perfect unionist.
  David Plotz Aug. 17, 1997
  
• New York's Loneliest Liberal Ruth Messinger's bad rap.
  James Traub Aug. 10, 1997
  
• Bertie Wooster's Party Tricks Former Gov. Bill Weld.
  Franklin Foer Aug. 3, 1997
  
• Dick Armey Is he really worse than Newt?
  Craig Winneker July 13, 1997
  
• Marilyn Manson The silliness of the shock rocker.
  David Plotz June 29, 1997
  
• The Old Carolinians Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms.
  David Plotz June 22, 1997
  
• Shooting Pool With Joe Camel And where he stands between Marlboro and Mayakovsky.
  Charles Paul Freund June 15, 1997
  
• God's Venture Capitalist The strange quest of Sir John Templeton.
  David Plotz June 8, 1997
  
• Rupert Murdoch, Humanitarian? He's not as bad as he seems--really.
  David Plotz May 25, 1997
  
• Domestic Goddess Dethroned How Roseanne lost it.
  David Plotz May 17, 1997
  
• Ralph Reed's Creed It's politics, not religion.
  David Plotz May 4, 1997
  
• The Ambassador From Shangri-La The Dalai Lama sells the romance of Tibet. The West is buying.
  David Plotz April 19, 1997
  
• The New Courtney Same as the old Courtney.
  Kim France April 12, 1997
  
• Content Is King Dexter King is a King for the '90s.
  David Plotz March 16, 1997