A biography of the prolific writer of mysteries exploring her personal life and her work.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965, which originally was intended to prohibit barriers to black registration and voting, has been hailed as a triumph for civil rights and as a catalyst for the election of minorities to public office in both the Deep South and the urban North. To advance its objective, federal courts instructed many cities to change from at-large to single-member district electoral systems as a way to ensure that minorities had a reasonable chance to elect representatives of their choice. In the first book to critique the implementation of this landmark legislation in a major American city, Ruth Morgan examines its effect on local governance over forty years in Dallas and shows that it had unintended consequences for racial politics, representation, and public policy. Breaking from studies that measure the success of the VRA in terms of increased minority representation, Morgan assesses the consequences of the Act for Dallas city government—and for the wider interests of minorities as well. While endorsing the original intent of the VRA, Morgan believes that this intent was subverted by subsequent amendments to the Act and by the courts' attempts to advance the political standing of particular minority groups. She argues that court-imposed single-member districts have created in Dallas a city council infected with parochialism and careerism—a result of members no longer having to compromise to win citywide votes—and have had an adverse impact on governmental effectiveness and voter turnout. With corruption and cronyism now rampant, voting rights legislation and litigation have ultimately failed to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the unempowered, and the district system has created an incentive for continued racial separation. Governance by Decree offers a pointed assessment of the complexities and contradictions produced by the voting rights law, while at the same time calling for the federal judiciary to exercise restraint in imposing its will when it lacks the capacity to make choices that are inherently political. Morgan's powerfully argued case study should inspire much debate and inform forthcoming congressional deliberations over the renewal of the preclearance section of the VRA in 2007.

The 1960s have yet to be adequately explained. After a decade of "Sixties -bashing" and mass media romanticizing, after a host of "second wave" books reexamining portions of the 1960s, there is a need to integrate the experience of those years into a larger framework of understanding. The Sixties Experience is a coherent and uniquely comprehensive assessment of the meaning of that time for the contemporary world. "Sixties movements," observes Edward P. Morgan, "were grounded in a democratic vision that is as compelling today as it was then: a belief that all people should be included as full members of society, that individuals become empowered through meaningful social participation, and that politics ought to be grounded on respect and compassion for the individual person." He argues that the most fundamental lesson taught by movement experience was that, outside of significant liberal achievements (such as civil rights legislation), this democratic vision would not, and could not, be realized within the American system. This realization thus led to a radical reassessment of basic American institutions. The Sixties Experience traces the evolution of this democratic vision and explores it through the concrete experiences of the civil rights and black power movements, the new student Left and the campus revolt, Vietnam and the antiwar movement, and the counterculture. Using first-person material, narrative accounts, and evocative excerpts from popular culture, he brings alive the vibrant energy and intense feelings generated by movement experiences He also traces the connection of the women's and ecology movements to the Sixties experience, outlining their contribution, and that of a "revitalized Left," to the enduring legacies of the 1960s. In its vivid narratives and comprehensive, accessible explanations, The Sixties Experience addresses two main audiences: the generation that came of age during the 1960s and continues to reformulate the meaning of its experience, and young people curious about the tumult, the commitment, and the importance of the Sixties. More broadly, in its critical perspective, the book responds to those who scapegoat and dismiss that decade; in his critical assessment of the movements themselves, Morgan counters those who romanticize the 1960s. Author note: Edward P. Morgan is Professor of Government at Lehigh University.

Published in the year 1987, Exercise and Mental Health is a valuable contribution to the field of Counseling and School Pscyhology.

Traces the currents that have shaped the development of music in the twentieth century and discusses the contributions of such composers as Mahler, Debussy, Stockhausen, Vaughan Williams, Bartok, and Stravinsky

Wherever we turn these days, we encounter reminders of the sixties. They're invoked in presidential campaigns, American military actions, and outbursts of mass protest. We're bombarded with media-saturated anniversaries of iconic events, from JFK's inauguration (and assassination) to urban riots and Woodstock. But as Edward Morgan suggests, these references offer little more than an endless stream of distracting imagery that has more to do with today's politics and economics than with the reality of yesterday's social movements. In his provocative look at mass media's connection with those turbulent years, Morgan simultaneously seeks to explain what happened in the 1960s and what happened to how we remember it. His comprehensive overview and critical analysis reveal how the mass media have shaped the popular image of a raucous decade in ways that have curtailed its promise of democracy. Morgan's in-depth study of sixties social movements and their depictions in corporate America's print media, film, and television helps to explain why the past still provokes deep emotions-even antagonism-half a century later. He blends history, sociology, political science, media and cultural studies, and critical theory to explain why the 1960s have been so virulently targeted, particularly by critics on the right who blame today's self-indulgent culture on baby boomers and "sixties permissiveness" instead of the real culprits: consumer-driven capitalism and neoliberal politics. Emphasizing the tensions between capitalism and democracy, Morgan investigates the fate of democracy in our media-driven culture, first by examining the ways that the 1960s were represented in the media at the time, then by exploring how popular versions of the sixties have glossed over their more radically democratic qualities in favor of sensationalism and ideological constructions. He reminds us of what really happened-then shows us how the media trivialized and satirized those events, co-opting and commercializing the decade's legacy and, in doing so, robbing it of its more radical, democratic potential. By revisiting this chapter of the past, Morgan shows that it has much to tell us about where we are today and how we got here. Whether you lived through the sixties or only read about them—or only saw Hollywood's version of them in Forrest Gump—this book will put their lessons in clearer perspective.

This book provides unique material that goes far beyond a description of bone and joint disorders alone. Each chapter provides information on the history, pathogenesis, diagnosis (physical and radiographic), therapy and prognosis of a particular canine skeletal disease as well as how the disease will affect the dog's life. The text covers all clinically relevant physical regions in the dog, eg, shoulder, elbow, hip, stifle and tarsus, and presents a group of actual, clinical osteochondrosis cases involving different anatomical locations. The authors address the importance of selection of dogs for breeding, including changes in breed appearance and disease propensity and the effect of high-energy diets in fast-growing animals. Discussion includes the impact of a lifetime of pain for the affected dog and the treatment expense for clients, yet provides steps that help the owner curb the progressive aspects of bone or joint diseases and manage the animal's discomfort. In daily practice client questions about skeletal disorders are routine. This remarkable, instructional text will provide answers, incidence figures, advice about surgery and timing, and honest analyses of treatment failures and successes. Here is a fresh look at OCD, dysplasias and other bone diseases, with realistic assessments and positive directives for pet care and client support. Published by Schluetersche, Germany and distributed by Manson Publishing .

Like many small towns, Oakboro experienced its development and growth because of the coming of the railroad. Called Five Roads for a time after the five intersecting trading paths, then Furr City after the store at the crossroads owned by C.C. Furr, the little community was the center of rural life. Oakboro and the surrounding area grew rapidly with the increase in rail commerce, and in 1915, the town was incorporated. Early landowners operated businesses and built stores, churches, and homes. Cotton gins, textile mills, roller mills, and lumber industries flourished soon afterward. Many of the original buildings were destroyed by fire or were demolished to make way for more modern structures, and few photographs from those early days remain. Oakboro preserves as much of the town's heritage as possible by showcasing its events and people in 20th-century photographs.