An Exhilarating Ride

This has been an incredible year for BUSINESS WEEK. Although Y2K produced barely a whimper, the New Year roared in nonetheless with the announcement of the biggest merger ever: America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc. Now, almost exactly one year later, this week's cover features AOL's Bob Pittman, the man who must help make the deal work. We think you'll enjoy this closeup look at what lies ahead.

The rest of the year turned out to be just as newsworthy. In February, the economic expansion that began in March, 1991, became the longest in history. Our cover, "The Boom," looked presciently at how it could come undone. BUSINESS WEEK has been the leader in coverage of the New Economy, the impact of globalization, and the investment in information technology, and we were early to warn that a New Economy boom could be followed by a New Economy bust.