A Novel Approach Leon Whiteson, Leon Whiteson is a Los Angeles-based writer and architecture critic. This essay was adapted from his latest book, "A Garden Story," which will be published in paperback by Mercury House next month
Fighting Wildfires With Fire SCOTT E. FRANKLIN, Scott E. Franklin is a former vegetation management official of the Los Angeles County Fire Department and a former member of the wildfire safety panel for L.A. County
Making Sense of Square-Foot Figures KATHERINE SALANT, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES; Katherine Salant is a syndicated real estate columnist who writes about newly built homes
Ahmad Chalabi Robin Wright, Robin Wright, author of "Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam" (Touchstone Books/Simon & Shuster), covers global issues for The Times
The Double-Edged Mandate William Schneider, William Schneider, a contributing editor to Opinion, is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a political analyst on CNN
Perot's Party: Ambiguity in a System Designed for Clarity Martin Walker, Martin Walker is U.S. bureau chief for Britain's The Guardian, and author of "The President We Deserve; Bill Clinton's Rise and Falls and Comebacks," published next week by Crown
The Smorgasbord Politics of Information Age Workers Joel Kotkin, Joel Kotkin is the John M. Olin fellow at the Pepperdine Institute for Public Policy and a senior fellow with the Pacific Research Institute. He is also business-trends analyst for KTTV Fox Television
Hiring Bad Guys: Who Else Does Covert Work? Joseph Finder, Joseph Finder, who writes frequently on intelligence matters, is the author, most recently, of the novel "The Zero Hour" (William Morrow)
After 36 Years of War, Is Peace Really at Hand? Victor Perera, Victor Perera, who teaches at U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, is the author of Unfinished Conquest: The Guatemalan Tragedy (California) and The Cross and Pear Tree: A Sephardic Journey (Knopf)
Tupac: Living the Life He Rapped About in Song Michael Eric Dyson, Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of communication studies at the University of North Carolina, is the author of "Between God and Gangsta Rap: Bearing Witness to Black Culture" (Oxford University Press). His new book, "Race Rules: Navigating the Color Line," will be published next month by Addison-Wesley