the Marquis de Sade writ large. It is anmatter of record that Ivan ordered andnoften took part in the torture of thousandsnof men and women, that henmarried nine times, and that he killednhis own son in a rage. Still, a fixationnon Ivan’s brutality does not help usnunderstand how he unified Russia withna uniform code of conduct and law,nexpanded education, created representativenassemblies of a sort, reformed andncodified behavior within the OrthodoxnChurch, and significantly expanded thenterritory of Russia. Something morenthan sadism must account for thesenaccomplishments.nUnfortunately, Troyat explains few ofnthe historical circumstances of Ivan’snrule. Unmentioned, for instance, is thenrough training that early Russian leadersnreceived at the hands of their enemies,nthe Tartars and Mongols. Thesenfoes were, after all, led by men whonwould drink from cups made ofnhollowed-out skulls of their rivals. Evennin 1662, 80 years after the death of IvannIV, Tartars raided the city of Putivl andncarried off 20,000 Russian slaves, afternfinishing their normal raping andnpillaging.nThen, too, it should be rememberednthat torture was a generally acceptednmeans of investigation and punishmentnthroughout “civilized” Europe in Ivan’sntime. The knout, fire, hanging, beheading,nand the severance of limbsnwere accepted in France and England.nIn 1613, France executed an assassinnof Henry IV by letting four horses pullnhim apart, while a large crowd of familiesnwatched—eating picnic lunches!nThe leaders of 16th-century Russianshould not be compared to WoodrownWilson. What we would now regard asnsimple justice would in those timesnhave been regarded as weakness bynmany, including the Russian boyarsnwho resented Ivan’s reorganization ofnRussia.nBut if Troyat offers too little factualnbackground, he does let us in on Ivan’sninner feelings and motivations. Wenlearn, for instance, that “[Ivan] watchedn[his adversaries] out of the corner of hisneye, hating them in silence,” and thatn”he was distressed at his inability to takenpleasure in bloodshed. He felt that thisnwas a sort of sexual impotence.” It’snamazing how far an author can go onnjust 14 footnotes. Readers distressed bynthe ways Ivan and Troyat deal with theirnsubjects may soon find themselvesnreaching for Robert K. Massie’s Peternthe Great and Nicholas and Alexandra.nMichael Warder is director of publicnaffairs for The Rockford Institute.nMissionary to thenAmazonsnby Edward D. Snow Jr.nDee Jepsen: Women: Beyond EqualnRights; Word Books; Waco, TX.nControversy and intense media scrutinynmarked Dee Jepsen’s 14 months asnPresident Reagan’s Special Assistant fornPublic Liaison to women’s organizations,nuntil she resigned in Octobern1983 to work for the unsuccessful reelectionncampaign of her husband.nSenator Roger Jepsen of Iowa. PresidentnReagan’s extemporaneous remark thatn”if it weren’t for women, men wouldnstill be walking around in skin suits andncarrying clubs” and the vigorous debatenover the perceived “gender gap” madenlife at the White House challenging fornMrs. Jepsen. Feminists criticized hernconservative politics and opposition tonthe ERA, and (not surprisingly) shenquickly became the object of unflatteringnstories in the Washington Post.nMrs. Jepsen’s book, however, doesnnot focus on her time at the WhitenHouse. Instead, it thoughtfully critiquesnmilitant feminism and assertsnthat women can only discover their truenidentity in Christianity:nSome women had been lookingnfor their identity in the wrongnplace before, only in theirnVive le RoilnWe keep hearing reports of a turn to thenright among today’s college students.nUsually, all this comes down to is a lacknof proper reverence for Stalin. But lastnfall, when the students of the Universitynof Maryland went to the polls to elect annew student government, they gave thennod to the school’s 13-year-old MonarchistnParty, headed by Thomas B. Cooper,n”King Tom II.” Among the royalnallies who also won student-governmentnposts were a queen, a duke,nand a chancellor of the exchequer.nKing Tom has apparently takennPrince Hal as his model. According tonthe Chronicle of Higher Education, HisnRoyal Highness attributes his recentntriumph to a certain aristocratic insouciance:n”We don’t have any of the littlenattache-case-carrying crowd here. . . .nLooking like a bunch of drunk idiotsnwas probably our best asset in thisnLIBERAL ARTSnnnhusbands and children. Nownmany merely shifted the search,nseeking identity in theirnwork—their careers. Truenidentity is not to be found inneither place.nBeyond Equal Rights is not so muchna book about women as it is a booknabout one woman. Dee Jepsen. Shenallows the reader to confront the difficultnchoices facing women today bynrecounting her own story and by introducingnthe reader to the multitude ofnwomen she has dealt with during hernlife as single mother, homemaker,nsmall businesswoman, senator’s aide,nand assistant to the President. Born intona poor Iowa farm family at the depth ofnthe Great Depression, Mrs. Jepsen lostnher mother at 13. A few years later, shen”made the mistake of an early, unfortunatenmarriage” which produced onenchild and ended in divorce. After somendifficult years, she married Roger Jepsen,nhimself already father of four. Notnlong after her second marriage. DeenJepsen made what she describes as thenpivotal decision of her life—acceptingnJesus Christ as her personal Savior. AndnMrs. Jepsen has needed plenty of Christianncharity to turn the other cheeknwhen attacked by the leaders of whatnPatrick Buchanan aptly describes asn”humorless feminism”:nOn several occasions, I havenbeen in meetings withncampaign.nOn matters of policy, Tom II dropsnEnglish Hal for Ludwig of Bavaria: tondeter campus crime, he proposes that an”security moat” be dug around thenuniversity, filled with “cold lager”: “Wenfelt that any criminal persistent enoughnto swim through a beer-filled moat isngoing to be either too drunk or too wetnto commit the heinous crimes he hadnintended.” The Monarchists also envisionn”a whole new era of sporting onncampus.” Football games will hereafternbegin with the royal proclamation “Letnthe games begin!” Jousting and othern”blood sports” will provide halftimenentertainment. “We plan on havingnexecutions, of course, at halftime, andnother criminal punishments—floggingnand things like that.”nIt’s the “things like that” which temptnus to hope he extends the blessing ofnroyal government to the whole of thisnbenighted republic. ccnMARCH 1986/35n