Ellen Goodman is an American original. A gifted writer who senses emerging shifts in our public and private lives, Goodman specializes in illuminating the cultural debates that become national obsessions.

What do we make of a world in which some folks hide women under chadors while others post xxx nude photos of women on the Internet? Do we really want to be putting human eggs up for sale or holding DNA accountable for a person's success or failure? What does it mean that our political discussions so often take the form of food fights and sound bites?

These and other questions are Ellen Goodman's beat. A truly innovative force in American journalism, she is widely acclaimed as a voice of sanity, and readers depend on her to help them make sense of their changing lives and relationships.

In addition to the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary, Ellen Goodman has won many other awards, including the American Society of Newspaper Editors Distinguished Writing Award, the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the President's Award from the National Women's Political Caucus.

Ellen Goodman has authored seven books; her most recent is Paper Trail: Common Sense in Uncommon Times.