Address_Copyright_Credit

Playbill ................ 9

The World of Playboy ................ 19

Dear Playboy ................ 21

Playboy After Hours ................ 27

Music ................ 30

Wired ................ 34

Movies ................ Leonard Maltin 36

Video ................ 40

Books ................ 42

Fitness ................ John Winters 44

Men ................ Asa Baber 46

Sex ................ Lori Weiss 48

Money Matters ................ Christopher Byron 49

Mantrack ................ 51

The Playboy Advisor ................ 55

The Playboy Forum ................ 57

Playboy Interview: Michael Crichton--candid conversation ................ 69

No writer so dominates both Hollywood and the best-seller lists. The elusive hitmaker lets us in on his secrets.

Last Words For A Century--article ................ Kurt Vonnegut 82

America's favorite visionary asks, "Where the Fuh-kar-wee?" and looks to Kilgore Trout for the answer.

Thierry Mugler's Sex Couture--pictorial ................ 86

Fashion's bad boy shows exactly what he means by erotic.

An Affair--fiction ................ Bruce Jay Friedman 94

They couldn't get enough of each other--and then it ended.

Eleventh-Hour Santa--gifts ................ 97

Chicken Little Goes Global--article ................ William Greider 100

Is the world economy about to collapse? A veteran skeptic and analyst gets to the bottom of it all.

Sex Stars of the Century--pictorial ................ D. Keith Mano 105

From Marilyn to Ursula to Sharon, the women who have made the past 100 years sizzle.

Cover Story

Forty-five years ago, Hugh Hefner took a bold gamble and started a magazine with a singular image of Marilyn Monroe. To celebrate that union, we recruited artist Rob Silvers to create a new cover using five decades of past Playboy covers. Silvers, who designed the computer program that performs this magic, used unaltered Playboy covers to generate the image. Look closely and you can identify nearly every month from our 45 years. At a distance, Marilyn appears, and reminds us how it all began.

Net Force--fiction ................ Tom Clancy 130

The Selkie--a beautiful, ruthless killer--stalks her prey inside the Pentagon.

Trial Run for New Year's

2000--article ................ John Mariani, Larry Olmsted and Chris Santilli 132

Make this year a practice session for the Big One with our can't-fail guide.

Kosher Sex--article ................ Rabbi Shmuley Boteach 134

Need some sizzle in your sex life? The rabbi is in.

45th Anniversary Playmate--playboy's playmate of the month ................ 138

Party Jokes--humor ................ 150

Midsummer Night's Doom--fiction ................ Raymond Benson 152

When Hef meets 007, Playboy Mansion West's annual pajama party turns to murder and mayhem.

Shine On--fashion ................ Hollis Wayne 154

Glitzy suits make the perfect statement for the millennial flash.

Babes and the Beltway--humor ................ Bill Maher 161

The host of Politically Incorrect explains why women can't hack it when it comes to talking about current affairs.

Can You Chat Up A Supermodel?--quiz ................ Christopher Napolitano 162

Too shy to go for the gold? Take our test and discover skills you never knew you had.

The Magnificent Seven--cars ................ Ken Gross 164

Landmark sports cars from Playboy's first 45 years.

Honeymoon--fiction ................ Robert Stone 170

A couple's holiday in the tropics is drenched with sex and death.

20 Questions: Kirstie Alley ................ 174

Prime time's brashest lass on the need for drama, the importance of wigs and how Kelsey Grammer grossed her out.

One More Reality To Go--article ................ Deepak Chopra 176

Has science figured out all that's worth knowing? The inspirational writer argues the next exciting field of inquiry lies within us.

The Year in Sex--pictorial ................ 178

Daddy's First Viagra--fiction ................ Steve Martin 186

A man, a woman, a little blue pill. Dream date? Not exactly.

That Was The Year That Was--humor ................ Robert S. Wieder 188

Playboy's College Basketball Preview--sports ................ Gary Cole 191

As schools gear up for March madness, our sports maven analyzes the best teams and players.

Earth To Universe: Do You Read?--article ................ Michael D. Lemonick 196

Scientists searching for life in outer space have found planets, water and carbon. But where are the aliens?

Playboy's Playmate Review--pictorial ................ 198

Where & How To Buy ................ 235

Playmate News ................ 251

Playboy on the Scene ................ 255