Cover Story 

92   WHO’S UP? HOLLYWOOD’S NEXT WAVE    
            Since V.F. first focused on Hollywood’s teen titans, in 
            2003, the YouTube-Gawker machine has upped the ante. 
            For every Shia LaBeouf success, there’s a Lindsay Lohan
            flameout. As Mark Seliger photographs today’s crop of 
            hot young things—Gossip Girls, Jonas Brothers, and 
            Apatow apostles— James Wolcott finds them adapting, 
            so far, to Digital Age fame. Spotted everywhere, but 
            captured here: the class of 2008! Web special: video and 
            a slide show from behind the scenes at the photo shoots;
            the Next Wave portfolio, with Krista Smith’s 
            mini-interviews; plus, a photo flashback to the teen 
            stars of 2003.

Features

106    BRINGING DOWN BEAR STEARNS 
               Wall Street never liked Bear Stearns, but who wanted
               it dead? When stubborn rumors brought down the
               maverick investment bank this spring, fingers pointed to 
               reckless traders and hands-off management. But from
               insider accounts, Bryan Burrough uncovers perhaps the 
               greatest financial scandal in history. Video: Burrough
               discusses his investigation into the collapse.

112   STUDY IN SCARLET 
               Michael Roberts and A. A. Gill spotlight fashion muse 
               Daphne Guinness as the Irish socialite launches a 
               new scent. 

114   FROM MAO TO WOW!
               As Beijing hosts the Summer Olympics, gold medals
               should go to its new skyline, which holds the strongest 
               promise of a Chinese Century. Exploring six freshly 
               unveiled architectural wonders, from Sir Norman 
               Foster’s airport terminal to the soon-to-be-iconic
               “Bird’s Nest” stadium, Kurt Andersen is reminded of
               New York City circa 1914. Photographs by Todd 
               Eberle and Stephen Wilkes.Web special: More photos.

124   THE WOMAN WHO WANTED THE
          SECRETS
               Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli left his only surviving child,
               Margherita Agnelli de Pahlen, five magnificent homes, a
               museum-quality art collection, and roughly half a billion 
               dollars. She says she wanted something else: the truth 
               about his estate. After suing three top Agnelli advisers, 
               de Pahlen has been exiled by the clan, including her son 
               John Elkann, now Fiat’s head. Mark Seal gets both sides
               of an ugly, unprecedented feud. Portrait by Jason Bell.

134   HAMPTONS OVERDRIVE 
               The subprime-mortgage tidal wave has hit even
               —gasp!— the Hamptons, though beachfront estates 
               still fetch stratospheric prices ($80 million, anyone?). 
               Michael Shnayerson surveys the damage as billionaires 
               do some fancy footwork, mere millionaires watch 
               real-estate sharks circle their McMansions, and the 
               lobster salad is being paid  for in euros. Photographs 
               by Cameron Davidson. Web special: An archive of past
               V.F. articles about the Hamptons.

FANFAIR

57      31 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE 
           Harvey Milk, from Castro Street to Hollywood
58      The Cultural Divide
60      Elissa Schappell’s Hot Type
62      Tropic Thunder takes Emily Poenisch by storm; Bruce Handy 
           applauds Hamlet 2; Julian Sancton salutes Generation Kill
64      Olivia Strand on Eva Scrivo’s shear genius; Hot Looks; 
            Eyes by Design; Jessica Flint shapes up with Julien Farel

Columns

70   BELIEVE ME, IT’S TORTURE 
         The debate over U.S. interrogation methods won’t be settled
         anytime soon. But after being waterboarded by a team of 
         military veterans, Christopher Hitchens has a better idea of 
         why he thinks the words “torture” and “American” shouldn’t 
         go together. Photographs by Gasper Tringale. Video:
         Watch Hitchens get waterboarded.

74   HILLARYLAND AT WAR
         Neither her front-runner status nor her decades of politics-as-
         war could propel Hillary Clinton to victory. Her biggest 
         problem (other than Bill)? A top-down campaign, plagued
         with infighting over how to package the first serious female 
         presidential candidate. After months of covering Clinton, 
         Gail Sheehy delivers the postmortem on a race that changed 
         the country. Video: Gaily Sheehy discusses Clinton’s losing 
         strategy, plus Larry Fink’s photos from the last days of 
         Clinton’s campaign.

Vanities
89   GREAT SCOT!

89    Dame Judi Dench joins Club Apatow; That Was Then and 
        This Is Now; Howard Schatz captures Colin Firth in character
        as a veteran middleweight, a volatile adman, and a starstruck
        teen

Et Cetera
48      EDITOR’S LETTER
50      CONTRIBUTORS
54      LETTERS 
           The Miley Cyrus Photo Fuss; Web special: more letters
67      FAIRGROUND 
            It’s in the Cannes
158     CREDITS
160     PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE