November 17, 2002

Article by Janusz Glowacki discusses relationship of his play The Fourth Sister to Chekhov's Three Sisters, which was inspiration for piece; photo (M)

Iraq's acquiescence to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441, which promises 'severe consequences' for 'continued violations of its obligations,' resembles just one more turn in dysfunctional relationship; latest events in Security Council and in Iraq appear to follow unhealthy pattern dating back to 1991, when Resolution 687 brokered end to Persian Gulf War and earned commitment from Saddam Hussein to disarm and allow UN inspectors to come in and oversee things; each new period of cooperation by Iraq has been quickly followed by stalling and sidestepping, then by limited cooperation again; timeline with significant moments in year 2002; photos (L)

Loans made to telecommunications and cable television industries and deal linked to Enron Corp weigh down JP Morgan Chase balance sheet, causing Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's Corp to reduce ratings on bank's debt; chief executive William B Harrison, who insists that economic recovery will revive Morgan's profitability, faces dilemma in that by staying the course he would fail to address investors' anxieties but by discount selling of bank's loan portfolio he could incur further lowering of credit ratings and attendant increased operating costs; most recent quarterly report shows 91 percent earnings drop compared with year earlier; Morgan's management could change if results do not improve soon; photos; graph (M)

Republican Party election victories are likely to speed legislative action to propel overhaul of American tort law; defenders of current civil litigation system say it works equitably and does not overload courts; critics point to large caseloads and punitive damage awards as signs that changes are necessary; odd alliances, ideological paradoxes, politics and money will determine extent of changes in civil justice system; photos; graphs (M)

FIELDS OF FURY The American Civil War. By James M. McPherson. Byron Preiss/Atheneum, $22.95. (All ages)

Over the last half-century, The New York Times Book Review's annual listing of the year's best illustrated children's books has included so many key titles by leading artists that retrospectively it offers a kind of pictorial guide to modern American childhood. The first special children's books issue appeared in the fall of 1947. In 1952, just after the first baby boomers went off to kindergarten, the Book Review convened a special art jury -- representatives of the education departments of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum, and the art department of the paper -- to look at 100 books culled from some 500 published that year. The jury chose and ranked seven, beginning with ''The Magic Currant Bun,'' by André François, and ending with ''A Hole Is to Dig,'' illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Ranked No. 5 was ''The Animal Fair,'' by Alice and Martin Provensen.

Two prominent New York City real estate families, the Dursts and the Roses, have joined to develop a 37-story apartment building on the northwest corner of 57th Street and 11th Avenue -- a block owned by a less well-known real estate family since the 1860's, when it was a Hudson River inlet. The Durst Organization, with Douglas and Jody Durst as co-presidents, is primarily a commercial development firm with an office-building portfolio of 7.5 million square feet.

Casting directors for television 'reality' shows, such as Mia Kaminsky of Shipmates, prowl bars and clubs to recruit contestants; Shipmates alone will need 300 willing and acceptable participants; photos (M)

EPOSSUMONDAS By Coleen Salley. Illustrated by Janet Stevens. Harcourt, $16. (Ages 4 to 9)

First thorough outside examination of Pres John F Kennedy's medical records finds that he suffered from more ailments, was in far greater pain and was taking many more medications that public knew at time or biographers have since described; was conducted by Robert Dallek, independent historian, and Jeffrey A Kelman, medical consultant, who were granted access to records by committee of longtime Kennedy family associates; new information indicates that Kennedy took painkillers, antianxiety agents, stimulants and sleeping pills, as well as hormones to keep him alive, with extra doses at times of stress; shows how far Kennedy went to conceal his ailments and shatters image of he projected as most vigorous of men; shows that Kennedy's back problems predate injuries suffered when his Navy patrol boat was sunk in World War II and that his vertebrae may have begun degenerating as result of steroids he may have taken in 1930's for intestinal problems, which plagued him all his life; Dallek concludes that for all his suffering, Kennedy's ailments did not incapacitate him and that he displayed quiet stoicism under extraordinary pain and distress; photos (M)

Nichole Christian Coping column on new exhibition at White Box gallery of portraits by Irish artist Brian Maguire of inmates at Bayview minimum-security women's prison in Chelsea; exhibit also includes paintings by some inmates; drawing (M)

Article on www.blackpeopleloveus.com, popular month-old satirical Web site dealing with racial stereotypes often faced by blacks in predominantly white environments; Chelsea and Jonah Peretti, siblings who designed site as form of social activism, comment; photos (M)