Sure, it's not the tell-all tome we've been passively-aggressively anticipating from Steve Florio, but ex-NYT ombudsman Daniel Okrent's manuscript – arriving at bookstores on May 15 – is one we'll nevertheless be pouring over. Probably not for the recycled columns during his tenure as the most hated man on West 43rd (which makes up most of the books), but for that bitchy preface that actually names names.

The book, published by Public Affairs, is largely a collection of his columns during that period, with brief updates, but it also includes a lengthy preface. Here Okrent describes some of his behind-the-scenes battles and offers personal assessments of individuals and the overall newsroom culture. He is often critical but also fond of what he calls "our one truly essential newspaper." He concludes that his proudest accomplishment was: "The Times chose to continue the public editor experiment by appointing another one."

Though while they opted to continue the gig (with the blasé Barney Calame), it's still not fair to stay whether the continuing of the position was an Okrent's achievement, or, as business reporter David Cay Johnston might argue, his crowning failure.

New Book by Former 'NYT' Public Editor Offers Candid Reflections [E&P]