Public health has moved to the forefront of national interest and scrutiny in the light of present day events.  Public health professionals are now regulars in all forms of media, something unheard of just a few years ago.  The issues are well known - bioterrorism, SARS, West Nile Virus - and they are enough to panic a population without skillful leadership. Public  Health for the 21st Century: The Prepared Leader examines public health leadership in terms of emergency preparedness and specific skills and tools.  As modern-day threats force leaders to look at how they address disasters and drive communities to prepare themselves, this book provides tools and real life cases to hone management skills to prepare agencies to deal with large scale events.