features
48 WHAT W DID
As George W. Bush canters off into the sunset, CHRISTOPHER HITCH- reminds us of the highlights that less open-minded critics might have forgotten or failed to notice.
62 THE 55 MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN SEX
This is not another one of those dashed-off lists that have become a staple of
the magazine industry. Nope. PLAYBOY has spent five decades fighting prudery;
sexual freedom is what we're all about. When we rank the most influential figures
in sex and sexuality during the 55 years since the magazine first hit stands,
it's for real.
BY CHIP ROWE
70 A MAN OF LETTERS
Despite the fame, acclaim and awards, Norman Mailer had a private side. These
personal correspondences offer a glimpse of the innermost thoughts of a legend.
74 PARTY OF THE YEAR
Some pictures are worth a thousand words. This one by JANET WOOLLEY, illustrating
2008's unforgettable celebrity high jinks, is worth a thousand laughs.
96 THE PLAYBOY BAR: CHAMPAGNE
Want your New Year's party to pop? Here's everything you need to know about bubbly.
100 SUPER RAT
Will the FBI ever catch Irish mobster James "Whitey" Bulger—charismatic
killer, number two on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List for 14 years and the inspiration
for Jack Nicholson's character in The Departed?
BY RICHARD STRATTON
108 THE GREAT HOOTERS ROAD TRIP
Hot wings, hot pants, hot damn! JOE QUEENAN crosses America, eating only at Hooters.
112 PLAYBOY INTERVIEWS GREATEST HITS
Memorable moments from the most authoritative body of Q&As in the history
of American journalism, the Playboy Interview. fiction
78 IN HIS OWN WOODS
A man seeking his own private kingdom buys a farmhouse on acres of forested land.
When he gets lost in the woods with his frightened four-year-old daughter, he
must find his way back—both home and to her heart. BY Scott Turow the playboy forum
33 REVISITING MISS GOLD-DIGGER
JESSICA WEISS takes a fresh look at Burt Zollo's controversial article Miss Gold-Digger
of 1953 and discovers Zollo's complaints about alimony still resonate today. 20Q
118 MARSTON AND COOPER HEFNER
Let's not beat around the bush: These guys grew up in the friggin' Playboy Mansion.
The stories they tell BILL ZEHME aren't exactly about Cotton Candy and pony rides. interview
RICHARD BRANSON
As the world's stock markets collapsed, Virgin's founder and chief continued to
run the U.K.'s $23 billion conglomerate as if it were a start-up. The normally
easygoing tycoon gets serious with David SHEFF about the global financial crisis,
the key to success for Virgin America airlines and the risky business of commuter
spaceflights.
pictorials
52 ICON
The Platonic form of female beauty: Carmen Electra.
60 55 BEAUTIFUL YEARS
Its all about the images. The gorgeous girls who have sparked the imagination
of American men for more than five decades start here.
84 PLAYMATE: Dasha ASTAFIEVA
The worldwide search is finally over: Feast your eyes on PLAYBOY'S 55th Anniversary
Playmate.
121 PLAYBOY'S PLAYMATE REVIEW
Thank goodness—a set of candidates we can all get behind. This is your chance
to vote for PMOY. notes and news
11 HANGIN' WITH HEF
Hef and the Girls Next Door attend the Fox Reality Channel Really Awards; Gene
Simmons rocks out with the Man.
155 PLAYMATE NEWS Karla Conway helps Hawaii go green by providing her turtle logo to bio-green bags;
Playmates pick the NFL playoffs; Stacy Fuson competes on NBC's Momma's Boys. departments
5 PLAYBILL
13 DEAR PLAYBOY
17 AFTER HOURS
24 REVIEWS
27 MANTRACK
31 THE PLAYBOY ADVISOR
94 PARTY JOKES
160 GRAPEVINE fashion
82 DIRECTOR'S CUT
Bryan Singer, the Hollywood director behind Valkyrie, Superman Returns and X-Men,
steps in front of the camera for a style close-up.
BY JOSEPH DE ACETIS
104 FORMAL NOTICE
The key word is refined when you choose a tuxedo for a black-tie affair.
BY JOSEPH DE ACETIS
