Playboy January 2009

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