The pool of candidates for urban superintendencies is dwindling, and those who take the jobs are likely to serve for only 2 or 3 years. This book explores contemporary conditions surrounding the urban superintendency and looks at the lives of 17 superintendents who were in office in large cities at the start of 1993. All were members of the Council of Great City Schools (CGCS). African Americans and Hispanic Americans occupy over 50 percent of the superintendencies in CGCS schools, and women fill 15 to 20 percent of the positions. This examination reveals how the community environment, organizational climate and culture, controversial school reform policies, and politics affect the overall administrative behavior and the decision making and effectiveness of the superintendent. An essential for the improvement of urban schools is removing the revolving door and retaining superintendents long enough for them to be effective. Ten tables and one figure summarize information about the superintendents and schools. Four resource attachments, with five more tables, present supplemental information about urban schools. (Contains 156 references.) (SLD)