His book Het zijn net mensen (2006, They're just like people) is a report of his experiences as a news correspondent in the Middle East, and quickly became a bestseller in the Netherlands.

The book has since been translated and published in Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Australia, the United States, France and Slovenia.

His stories cast light on a number of major crises, from the Iraq War to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, along with less-reported issues such as underage orphan trash-collectors in Cairo.

[citation needed] In September 2010 Joris Luyendijk was asked to shadow the Dutch Parliament and government in The Hague for a month, resulting in a book on Dutch politics, titled Je hebt het niet van mij, maar... ("You didn't hear it from me, but...").

In Dutch-language newspapers NRC Handelsblad and De Standaard Luyendijk commented weekly on his life in the City.