As the life of U.S. senator James Lane unfolded on the Kansas frontier, so did his saintly and dastardly deeds. Some called him a murderer while others affectionately called him a good politician. Carefully preserving the character of the misunderstood senator, this book tells the untold and largely forgotten story of the controversial Civil War-era figure. James H."the Grim Chieftain" Lane was the most powerful politician west of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. Born in 1814, he spent his early life in military service during the Mexican War and he eventually entered into a life of politics. At the age of thirty-one, Lane spent his earnings to run for a seat in the Indiana legislature. Although his attempt was unsuccessful, he didn�t have to wait long before taking the first of many offices as the lieutenant governor of the State of Indiana, a position he won by a single vote in 1849. From there, his career took him along an aggressive path that led him to Kansas as he argued for popular sovereignty during the state�s formation. Early on, he gained a reputation as a fanatic who was responsible for leading Kansas into the Civil War. In a series of controversial and compelling chapters, Collins illustrates a long line of federal patronage, which served as the senator's power base from which he drew upon allegiance and loyalty. Tragically, Lane's life ended ten days after he put a revolver in his mouth and pulled the trigger. The lost story of Jim Lane will interest anyone seeking a historical perspective of "Bleeding Kansas."

Since the late 1960s, American film and video makers of all genres have been fascinated with themes of self and identity. Though the documentary form is most often used to capture the lives of others, Jim Lane turns his lens on those media makers who document their own lives and identities. He looks at the ways in which autobiographical documentaries—including Roger and Me, Sherman’s March, and Silverlake Life—raise weighty questions about American cultural life. What is the role of women in society? What does it mean to die from AIDS? How do race and class play out in our personal lives? What does it mean to be a member of a family? Examining the history, diversity, and theoretical underpinnings of this increasingly popular documentary form, Lane tracks a fundamental transformation of notions of both autobiography and documentary.

The United States Steel Corporation founded Gary in 1906 as an experiment in industrial urban planning, and the inscription on the city's official seal accordingly proclaims it the "City of the Century." Gary proved to be no more immune to the woes of industrialization than any other American city, however. To some, in fact, it has come to epitomize all that is wrong with contemporary urban life. But as this book clearly shows, the people of Gary have refused to surrender their sense of hope, their dignity, and their pride to the prophesiers of doom. At once scholarly and colorful, "City of the Century" is an outgrowth of urban historian James B. Lane's popular weekly columns for the Gary Post-Tribune. Lane uses the oral testimony of the people of Gary to tell a fascinating story. There are episodes of personal tragedy and heroism here, of frustrated dreams and tarnished reputations, and of challenges met and obstacles overcome.

“A magisterial and landmark work, one that merits wide and thoughtful readership not only by historians, but, more important, by those of us who count on historians to tell us truly about our past.”—New York Times “A testament to the resilience of the black spirit, faced with a primitive and largely conscienceless regime.”—Bertram Wyatt-Brown, South Atlantic Quarterly “This volume does much more than merely present a rich collection of judiciously selected and skillfully edited sources of the history of slavery; in the process it reveals a host of large-as-life slaves and ex-slaves: Kale, the precocious eleven-year-old Mende of the Amistad rebels, who quickly learned to write eloquent and polished English; Harry McMillan of Beaufort, South Carolina, who talked frankly of black love and marriage; Charlotte Burris of Kentucky, so ‘afflicted’ that her husband was permitted to buy her for only $25.00—‘as much as I was worth,’ she self-effacingly said; and many more. This illumination of the slave as an individual is really what the book is all about.”—Journal of Southern History “A mammoth presentation of two centuries of slave recollections . . . extraordinary firsthand narratives that should become the premier reference volume on the slave experience for years to come.”—Columbia (SC) State “The largest collection of annotated and authenticated accounts of slaves ever published in one volume. . . . So valuable a compilation is this study that its real worth cannot be measured for some time to come.”—Richmond News Leader

In the fall of 1876 Cook and a partner started their own ranch on the South Fork of the Llano River in Kimball County. Cook remained there until 1880, when he sold his interest. Both Jim and Al, who sometimes went by the alias of Taylor Williams, worked for O. J. Wiren, foreman of the Quitaque Ranch. In 1881, when the Quitaque was sold to Charles Goodnight and Wiren purchased the Two Circle Bar on the upper Brazos from Jesse Hitson, the Cooks stayed with Wiren. Indeed, Jim "Lane," who was made wagon boss, was said to have owned an interest in the Two Circle Bar, although the records show no such evidence. He reportedly ran his own herd at the ranch and won notoriety among the cowboys as a "hard man to work for and inconsiderate of his men." However, he remained with Wiren five years before leaving "for reasons of my own," as he later stated.

Employ cognitive theory in the classroom every day Research into how we learn has opened the door for utilizing cognitive theory to facilitate better student learning. But that's easier said than done. Many books about cognitive theory introduce radical but impractical theories, failing to make the connection to the classroom. In Small Teaching, James Lang presents a strategy for improving student learning with a series of modest but powerful changes that make a big difference—many of which can be put into practice in a single class period. These strategies are designed to bridge the chasm between primary research and the classroom environment in a way that can be implemented by any faculty in any discipline, and even integrated into pre-existing teaching techniques. Learn, for example: How does one become good at retrieving knowledge from memory? How does making predictions now help us learn in the future? How do instructors instill fixed or growth mindsets in their students? Each chapter introduces a basic concept in cognitive theory, explains when and how it should be employed, and provides firm examples of how the intervention has been or could be used in a variety of disciplines. Small teaching techniques include brief classroom or online learning activities, one-time interventions, and small modifications in course design or communication with students.

Life in the Fast Lane By: Jim Burton Author Jim Burton has lived his life in the fast lane. This book is a few entertaining and humorous short stories from his life. He was recruited by the mafia and worked with them for years. He became one of the largest art dealers in the country. He made millions on insider trading and lost it all on Black Tuesday. While he was in the business, Burton became friends with John Gotti. He did foreign currency deals with stolen money from the Vatican. In Argentina, the Feds put him in an underground prison and took 12 million dollars for his release. He became one of the largest cocaine dealers on Long Island for ten years and never got caught due to family ties. The law set him up and planted things to put Burton away. He was put in jail for years without a break or trial and he still beat them. Only the law can break the law.