Vanity Fair. June 2006

Inside:

ANDERSON COOPER'S PRIVATE STORM
Covering a hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, Anderson Cooper found himself in uncharted territory, stripped of his normal defenses. In an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir, Dispatches from the Edge, the CNN anchor reveals the private nightmares that surfaced as he shared a city's suffering: the long-buried legacies of his father's death and his brother's suicide.

A FACE ONLY A PRESIDENT COULD LOVE
Thirty years ago Dick Cheney was the likable young star of the moderate Ford administration. Today he's a snarling caricature of White House extremism and incompetence. Is his heart condition to blame? The shock of 9/11? The fortune he made at Halliburton? In exclusive interviews with the V.P., his wife, and longtime friends and colleagues, Todd Purdum explores the disconnect between Cheney past and Cheney present.

HOW NEW ORLEANS DROWNED
As Katrina bore down on New Orleans, the city's survival lay in the hands of a showboating mayor, an ill-prepared governor, a miscast Bush crony at FEMA, and a clueless White House. In an excerpt from The Great Deluge, historian Douglas Brinkley follows the key players through the fateful first week to show that, thanks to meltdowns, infighting, and miscalculations, the Big Easy never had a chance.

NICOLE WEIGHS IN
Nicole Richie isn't anorexic–she's just stressed out! At least that's what she's telling her intimates. And with The Simple Life going into a fourth season, the ups and downs of her romance, and the big decision to focus on a music career, who can blame her? Interviewing the 24-year-old style setter and her adoptive parents in L.A., Leslie Bennetts learns about Nicole's epic hell-raising, her struggle to gain weight, and her real feelings about former best friend Paris Hilton.

DUBAI'S THE LIMIT
In little more than two decades, a mind-boggling metropolis has risen from the sands of Arabiaґthe ever expanding, hyperkinetic swirl of towers, theme parks, mega-malls, luxury hotels, and enterprise zones that is Dubai. In the swankiest restaurants and darkest corners of the tiny emirate, Nick Tosches discovers what has fueled the unparalleled growth of this Las Vegas on steroids: the royal house of Maktoum's version of the American Dream.

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Personally, I've gained much respect for Anderson Cooper after reading his essay about his brother's death in this issue.

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