More than two centuries after his birth and almost a century and a half after his death, the legendary life and legacy of John Brown go marching on. Variously deemed martyr, madman, monster, terrorist, and saint, he remains one of the most controversial figures in America's history. Brown's actions in Kansas and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, provided major catalysts for the American Civil War, actions that continue today to evoke commendation or provoke condemnation. Through the prisms of history, literature, psychology, criminal justice, oral history, African American studies, political science, film studies, and anthropology, Terrible Swift Sword offers insights not only into John Brown's controversial character and motives, but also into the nature of a troubled society before, during, and after the Civil War. The discussions include reasons why Brown's contemporaries supported him, attempts to define Brown using different criteria, analyses of Brown's behavior, his depiction in literature, and examinations of the iconography surrounding him.The interdisciplinary focus marshalled by editor Peggy A. Russo makes Terrible Swift Sword unique, and this, together with the popular mythology surrounding the legend of John Brown, will appeal to a broad audience of readers interested in this turbulent moment in American history.Paul Finkelman is Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tulsa College of Law. He is the author of many articles and books, including His Soul Goes Marching On: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid and the Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference Peggy Russo is an assistant professor of English at the Mont Alto Campus of Pennsylvania State University. She has published in Shakespeare Bulletin, The Southern Literary Journal, Journal of American Culture, Shakespeare and the Classroom, and Civil War Book Review.

Few presidents have sparked as much interest in recent years as Ronald Reagan, already the subject of a large number of biographies and specialized subjects. This biography, based on recent research into the Reagan archives and synthesis of the large memoir literature, explores the shaping of his values and beliefs during his childhood in the American heartland, his leadership of the American conservative movement, and his successful political career culminating in the first two-term presidency since Dwight Eisenhower. Pemberton finds Reagan's personal career and ability to understand and communicate with the American people admirable, but finds many of the long-term effects of his presidency harmful.

This book - Will Peters's second volume of leadership lessons - puts the spotlight on six great political leaders whose lives offer endless lessons for people who aim to lead, whether they want to go into politics, start a business, or take over the local school board. Every leader is unique, and these six - Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher - each faced his or her own problems and found creative ways to deal with them. But they also shared qualities vital to any leader, and their stories will both inspire readers and teach practical ways to succeed and win loyalty.

Offering effective tools and strategies, this book covers how to encourage and strengthen skills in process analysis and investigation, align OD principles with transforming societal values, clarify communication processes and decision-making procedures, and isolate and resolve roadblock issues. Constructing a platform to assess large-system agendas, Ironies in Organizational Development, Second Edition is an outstanding text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students taking organizational development courses in the departments of public administration, psychology, management, and sociology, as well as for in-service and professional workshops.

In Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Freedom, Andrew E. Busch goes beyond economic and foreign policies to examine Reagan's understanding of statesmanship. Busch analyzes Reagan's conscious attempt to strengthen the separation of powers, federalism, and traditional rhetoric, and his efforts to revive the notion of limited government in a Constitutional Republic. In this important new study, Busch concludes that Ronald Reagan's politics of freedom--found in his discourse, policy, and coalition-building--achieved significant successes in the 1980s and beyond.