"In 1940, New York City's Board of Higher Education appointed noted British scholar Bertrand Russell, one of the greatest living philosophers of the day, to the faculty of the publicly funded City College. The board's intent in appointing such a celebrated writer and lecturer was to boost the school's image. Instead, it found itself in the midst of a firestorm when conservative and religious leaders throughout the city and indeed the country - aghast at Russell's unapologetic atheism and his popular writings on "free love"--Unleashed a protest over the appointment that raged in the headlines for months." "Appointment Denied is the true story behind the Bertrand Russell/City College controversy, where academic freedom, religious fervor, and political expediency combined to form a volatile mixture that posed a palpable threat to higher education in America."--Jacket.