Journalism

In today's sexual politics, are women equal — and are men even needed? That's the question New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd asks in her new book, 'Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide'.

A need for foreign workers in Iraq -- and the flood of American dollars into the country -- have created a labor network that critics call misleading, illegal and even dangerous. Chicago Tribune correspondent Cam Simpson retraced the fatal journey of 12 men from Nepal.

Barbara Ehrenreich's latest book is Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream. In it, Ehrenreich details white-collar unemployment and the industry that sells unemployed resume assistance, job fairs, and networking events.

New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins has been covering Iraq... thoroughly. In April he received the George Polk Award for War Reporting for his riveting, first-hand account of an eight-day attack on Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah.

Time magazine's Mike Allen has co-authored a new investigative article on how the Bush administration appoints the officials who run vital government agencies. The article, spurred by complaints about ousted FEMA head Mike Brown, is "How Many More Mike Browns Are Out There?"

Writer David Rakoff has a new collection of essays, Now, Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, the Torments of Low Thread Count, the Never-ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems. Rakoff is a regular contributor to public radio's This American Life.

Anthony Shadid's new book is Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War. Shadid is the Baghdad correspondent for The Washington Post. The book culls stories from Shadid's many visits to Iraq over the past eight years.

The aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks revitalized New York City's mafia organizations. That's one of the revelations of former 'New York Times' crime reporter Selwyn Raab's new book, 'Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires'.

An investigative reporter for The New York Times, Christopher Drew has been on the ground in New Orleans and provides a firsthand account of the situation he witnessed in the Superdome and the streets of the flooded city.

Eric Lipton of The New York Times has been reporting from Louisiana on the hurricane and its aftermath. He is co-author of a recent article chronicling the flawed response to the storm.