Secret Plan Outlines the Unthinkable WILLIAM M. ARKIN, William M. Arkin is a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington and an adjunct professor at the U.S. Air Force School of Advanced Airpower Studies. He is also a consultant to a number of nongovernmental organizations and a regular contributor to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Brand USA NAOMI KLEIN, Naomi Klein is the author of "No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies."
Simon's Best Hope: Be a New Riordan TONY QUINN, Tony Quinn is co-editor of the California Target Book, a nonpartisan analysis of state congressional and legislative campaigns.
The Face of Botox Economics NEAL GABLER, Neal Gabler, a senior fellow at the Norman Lear Center at USC Annenberg, is the author of "Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality."
Cities Exaggerate Cost of Water Cleanup DAVID S. BECKMAN, MARK GOLD and STEVE FLEISCHLI, David S. Beckman directs the Coastal Water Project in the Los Angeles office of the Natural Resources Defense Council; Mark Gold is the Executive Director of Heal the Bay; Steve Fleischli is the Executive Director of Santa Monica BayKeeper.
The New O.C. Voter Pays Up CHRISTIAN COLLET, Christian Collet is president of Pacific Opinions, an Irvine-based independent research firm, and a visiting professor in the department of political science at UC Irvine.
Promises of Renewal Broken AMANDA SHAFFER and ROBERT GOTTLIEB, Amanda Shaffer is the author of an upcoming Occidental College Urban & Environmental Policy Institute report on supermarkets in low-income Los Angeles communities (www.uepi.oxy.edu). Robert Gottlieb is the director of the institute.
A Property Tax Refund May Be Yours ROBERT A. POOL, Robert A. Pool is a property tax attorney who lives in Seal Beach. He and his wife are defendants in the continuing Superior Court case "County of Orange vs. Orange County Assessment Appeals."
Out of the Mouths of Babes SABINE REICHEL, Sabine Reichel is the author of "What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?: Growing Up German" and of the forthcoming "The Bad Girl Bible: How to Be Good at Being Bad."
Secret Histories D.J. CARLILE, D.J. Carlile is a music critic, playwright, poet and translator of "Rimbaud: The Works," available at Xlibris.com.
The Men Who Would Be Kings RICHARD SCHICKEL, Richard Schickel is the author of "Matinee Idylls" and reviews movies for Time magazine.
Executive Privilege KENNETH TURAN, Kenneth Turan is The Times' film critic and the author of the forthcoming book, "Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made."
Books for Kids Reviews are provided to Book Review by Publishers Weekly, where they first appeared. olice2002, Publishers Weekly.