A former Washington correspondent for The New Yorker — where he wrote penetrating profiles of such political luminaries as John McCain, John Kerry and Tony Blair — Klein is a senior writer at TIME. His weekly column, “In the Arena,” covers national and international affairs, from Washington to Europe and the Middle East. A self-described “political junkie” with a passion for public policy, Klein shares his views as America and its leaders face crucial decisions that will affect our lives and the course of international relations. In 2004 he won the National Headliner Award for best magazine column.

...Joe Klein makes you laugh and think at the same time. His incisive commentary and quick wit combine to provide a real insight into national affairs while making our political leaders come alive for the audience.

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As “Anonymous,” Klein wrote the #1 bestseller, Primary Colors, inspired by the 1992 presidential race. The New York Times Book Review called it “one of the best political novels to appear in the latter half of the 20th Century.” With three million copies in print, Primary Colors was on The New York Times bestsellers list for 25 consecutive weeks. It was adapted into a major motion picture starring John Travolta and Emma Thompson.

His follow-up novel, The Running Mate, was an entertaining, behind-the-scenes look at contemporary politics and, as Klein put it, “the difficulties of being a politician and a human being at the same time.” Klein’s non-fiction books are The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton ( a New York Times bestseller), Payback: Five Marines After Vietnam and Woody Guthrie: A Life.

Klein’s latest book, Politics Lost: How American Politics Was Trivialized By People Who Think You’re Stupid, is a brilliant dissection of American politics. The Washington Post called it “a highly entertaining tour of how political consultants progressively hijacked the presidential campaigns of the last 40 years.”

Klein won a National Headliner Award for his Newsweek column, “Public Lives.” He has been a consultant for CBS News, a Washington bureau chief at Rolling Stone and a political columnist for New York Magazine, where he won a Washington Monthly Journalism Award for a cover story on race. His articles have appeared in The New Republic, The New York Times, Life and The Washington Post. He is a former Guggenheim Fellow and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.