Alexander Leidholdt's first book, "Before the Shouting Mob: Lenoir Chambers and Virginia's Massive Resistance to Public-School Integration," has its roots in his doctoral dissertation, which he completed under the supervision of Maurice Berube, Old Dominion eminent scholar of educational leadership and counseling.

Published this spring by the University of Alabama Press, the book focuses on the editor of Norfolk's Virginian-Pilot who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1960 for his five-year editorial campaign opposing Virginia's "massive resistance" to school integration. "Writing this book was a labor of love," said Alex, an assistant professor of communication at Purdue University. "I respect Chambers's works, and he is a good example of the media behaving responsibly."

In 1958, the nation's attention was focused on Norfolk, where nearly 10,000 students were locked out of the city's white secondary schools. In a bold display of massive resistance, Gov. J. Lindsay Almond had ordered three school systems closed in an attempt to thwart the integration mandate of Brown vs. Board of Education.

With the help of the powerful political machine of Sen. Harry F. Byrd Sr., Almond effectively transformed Norfolk into a battleground where opponents to integration were pitted against pro-school forces and the court system.

In February 1959, the schools reopened peacefully, if not entirely orderly, as the policy of massive resistance began to crumble, thanks in large measure to Chambers, who set the editorial policy for The Virginian-Pilot. Under his leadership, the newspaper urged compliance with the court's mandate on integration and served as an important influence in bringing about this nonviolent process.

It was Chambers's editorials that first swayed the opinion leaders, who in turn influenced others. Alex's book examines the editor's campaign, explores the influences that shaped his racial views and places him within the context of Southern journalism.

"The effort Lenoir Chambers made to champion responsible journalism in the bitter school desegregation struggle in Norfolk makes an engaging book," writes James D. Startt, of Valparaiso University. "Alex Leidholdt's convincing study of the man and the episode has extended meaning. His volume deserves a significant place both in the history of the modern South and in journalism history."

Alex's next book will be about editor Louis Jaffe, Chambers's predecessor at The Virginian-Pilot, who won a Pulitzer in 1929 for his anti-lynching campaign.

Alex believes there aren't many people today like Chambers who have the editorial power to change public opinion about important issues. "Newspapers were more influential in Chambers's and Jaffe's day than they are now."