Born and raised in Ireland, Alexander Cockburn has been an American journalist since 1973. He has established a reputation as one of the foremost reporters and commentators of the left by writing newspaper and magazine columns for the past decade.

Cockburn's areas of interest include the American political scene, economics, the environment, labor issues and international policy. The author of a bi-weekly column for The Nation called "Beat the Devil," Cockburn also writes a syndicated newspaper column, which is distributed nationally by Creators Syndicate and has appeared regularly in such papers as the Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Examiner, Minneapolis Star-Tribune and Detroit Free Press.

In 1987, Cockburn authored a highly successful collection of essays, some autobiographical, entitled "Corruptions of Empire" for which he was called "the most gifted polemicist now writing in English" by the Times Literary Supplement. Another reader of Cockburn's columns, Rep. Henry Gonzalez of Texas, referred to Cockburn as "one of the most perceptive and one of the most brilliant minds we have in America."

Cockburn also co-authored the acclaimed "The Fate of the Forest, Developers, Destroyers and Defenders of the Amazon." He has appeared on numerous national television programs, including interviews with Ted Koppel and Phil Donohue. He also lectures regularly on environmental issues and global politics.

Educated in Ireland, England and Scotland, Cockburn graduated with honors from Oxford University in 1963. He now lives in Northern California and travels extensively.