In and around Rough Edge (The western side of the village of St. Stephens, Alabama) several crusty old gentlemen lived. In his young days Edward was often enthralled by the tales these old men told. Over the years many tales accumulated in his repertory. Edward often regaled gatherings of the good people of St. Stephens with those stories. He was told by many, “you should write a book containing these stories.” In considering writing a book of anecdotes Edward chose, “Tales of the Elder Statesman,” as the title. One of the old men who spun many of the stories considered himself to be an authority on Washington County politics. In reality just the opposite was true. If you wanted to vote for a winning candidate, vote against the person Rufus was backing. In jest Edward began calling him the Elder Statesman. In the book the stories of several crabby old men are recorded and the term, “The Elder Statesman” is used to refer to each of these old men. Thus, The Elder Statesman,” applies to a number of different men. It became a compilation of all those different personalities. Most of the stories are humorous, some are heartwarming morality revelations, while a few are pure fiction. The real beauty of, “Tales of the Elder Statesman”, lies in the fact that the reader does not have to keep up with a complicated plot. He can read a few tales, put the book down for a week then read some more tales without missing a beat. This book is dedicated to preserving the memory of those wonderful old men

The young Reuben Clark struggled to gain an education in rural Granstville, Utah. Finally in 1890, at considerable inconvenience to his parents, he attended college in Salt Lake City, then Columbia University in Manhattan. Later he would become Undersecretary of State, Ambassador to Mexico, and counselor to three Mormon prophets. Quinn's revisitation of Clark's life might well be the last great biography of a twentieth-century Mormon leader.

One poll declared him the most influential American church leader of the last 100 years. Lyle E. Schaller has written literally millions of words of insight and advice for church leaders. His books alone number nearly 60 titles and span 40 years of publication, beginning in 1964. Now, this single volume makes available his best insights, organized by topic and framed with fascinating background perspective of Schaller himself. This volume both introduces Schaller to a new generation of church leaders and is a handy resource for those who grew up on Schaller's writing and count him as a major ministry influence.