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Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes the "most worrisome" part of the U.S. war in Afghanistan is actually in Pakistan. After a six-month offensive, Pakistan's military says it has driven the Taliban out of one region in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. It's an area where the foreign media are banned. But over the weekend, Pakistan's military flew some journalists there.

Author James Lever talks about the chimp, the myth and the legend behind his fictionalized memoir Me, Cheeta: My Life in Hollywood.

Crime novelist Richard Price explores the fragile and often fractious relationship between Manhattan's Lower East Side denizens in his most recent book, Lush Life.

The Taliban is reorganizing in Pakistan's tribal belt in preparation for the arrival of 17,000 U.S. troops across the border in Afghanistan. It doesn't want to fight on two fronts so it is no longer interested in waging war with the Pakistani army.

The New York Times foreign correspondent Dexter Filkins reports that the Taliban are waging an increasingly aggressive campaign in Afghanistan — a fact evidenced by a 40 percent increase in Afghan civilian deaths in 2008.

The Taliban in Pakistan's Swat Valley made its cease-fire indefinite Tuesday. It is another step along the path toward reaching a peace deal in that part of northwest Pakistan. The deal has set alarm bells ringing in Washington, and heated debate among Pakistanis.

The alleged domestic violence incident involving R&B stars Chris Brown and Rihanna has stirred serious discussions about abusive relationships. A panel of Moms — two of whom have survived abusive relationships — explore ways to discuss abuse with youngsters who claim to be in love, and why many victims suffer in silence.

Journalist Steve Coll says that India and Pakistan held secret talks over the disputed region of Kashmir in 2006, but that tentative plans for peace have since been abandoned due in part to the political decline of Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf and the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

When Steve Inskeep visited Iran in this month, these three books provided the guidance he needed to understand the country's complicated approach to free speech and expression.

Two recent contributions to the horror genre, Drood and the Twilight saga, have breathed new life into old thrills and chills. Maureen Corrigan has a review.