Not just another pretty face: Lara Logan catapulted into the big time with her fearless reporting from Baghdad. Here, she tells deputy editor Ruth Davis what drove her to take such a perilous career path. (On My Mind).

* Thirty-two-year-old Lara Logan loves being where the action is--even if it means taking major risks. For a period of time during the war in Iraq, the CBS correspondent was the only journalist with a major American network in Baghdad working without the protection of being embedded with the troops. But it wasn't the first time that Lara had taken on a dangerous assignment--she also covered conflicts in Afghanistan and the Middle East, floods in Mozambique, and an earthquake in India. Here, she talks to Cosmo about what it's like being on the front lines of history.

How did you wind up being the only correspondent in Baghdad reporting independently of the troops?

I was in Baghdad initially, and then when the war started, CBS ordered me and my crew to pull out, as did all the major networks. But from the moment I crossed the border into Jordan, I was trying to figure out a way to get back into Iraq. I pressured my boss and kept on top of the situation in Baghdad, and when I believed that the time was right, I got in a car with an excellent Iraqi driver and drove back to Baghdad. There was no place in the world I wanted to be more.

Really? Wow. Most people would feel just the opposite. Do you find being in a war zone thrilling?

It's not so much thrilling as it's just everything I am ... situations like these define me as a person and as a journalist. Covering such stories is kind of my reason for being. When there's such a huge event going on in the world, like a regime change or an uprising, I want to be there and be a part of it. In fact, I'm a horrible person to be around if I'm not a part of it. I get uncontrollably ...