Church's great strength is his versatility. A year after arriving at TIME in 1969, following 14 years at the Wall Street Journal, George wrote his first cover, on inefficiency in America. Twenty-one years later, he wrote his 100th, on the disintegration of the Soviet Union. At cover length, he has made sense of the secret sale of arms to Iran, the Los Angeles riots and the Reagan-era U.S. military buildup, among other subjects. So varied is his repertoire that this week's issue also includes his one-page story on Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan.
Cover work can keep writers stationed at their keyboards into the wee hours of the night.
If my memory turned mushy toward morning, I could always ask George where to find some memorable quote in a correspondent's files. Take 21, page 3,' he would say - without a pause in his typing. At 62, Church, who loves fishing and serenading co-workers with his parodies of popular songs, is still propelled through the toughest stories by an undiminished excitement about news. And we hope it continues for a long time to come. Time Inc. All rights reserved.