An untold one that played out in the district of Kozhikode when a young IAS officer took charge as the District Collector in 2015. Over the next two years, he led the district and transformed the very concept of public administration with the use of social media, public consultation, usage of technology, volunteerism and public participation in governance. The two year tenure of 'Collector Bro' in Kozhikode transformed the landscape and narrative of district administration and communication with the citizens forever.Within a couple of months, 'Collector Kozhikode' Facebook page became a trendsetter in Kerala, and the most followed district administration page in India. It still is. With initiatives like Compassionate Kozhikode, Operation Sulaimani, Savari Giri Giri, Kozhipedia, Freedom Café, Yo Appooppa and Tere Mere Beach Mein, IAS officer Prasanth Nair, who was the District Collector of Kozhikode at that time, ushered in a new language of governance that endeavoured to bridge the gap between the district administration and citizens through the optimal employment of social media. The District Collector descended from the colonial ivory towers and mingled as one amongst the common man, totally dismantling the hierarchical stereotypes that the society was used to.This book traces the story of how exactly this happened and how and why the public responded so overwhelmingly to such an initiative. It also chronicles how these experiences transformed the young officer also - from a hesitant public speaker to a crowd-puller, from an introvert to a seemingly extrovert energetic leader. For the first time, the emotional roller-coaster of events that re-shaped the attitude and language of engagement by District administration is narrated with all the inside-stories. Straight from the horse's mouth. The author however takes pains not to take centre-stage in the book and manages that somewhat with wit and self-deprecating humour. This book has got nothing to do with government; but it is all about governance, life and compassion. At one level it is a collection of case-studies, the most readable and engrossing ones, narrated with fun and illustrations. At another level it is a chronicle of a personal journey of a compassionate administrator. This is not a typical arrogant bureaucratic ‘I did this’ book, but an ‘I went through this’ book. Not a high-horsed motivational ‘you can do it’ book, but a book that makes you think and prioritise what you want to do in life.As Dr. Shashi Tharoor says in the foreword, a must read for all civil servants, civil-service aspirants, students of public administration and all citizens who dream for a better tomorrow.

    He had a unique insight into the workings of a criminal organization whose reputation in the underworld remains to this day. But he was not just an observer and his role in the Kray story ultimately led to him serving 15 years in prison. Inside the Firm tells, with searing honesty, his violent history with the Krays, and the horrors of his subsequent imprisonment in top security institutions. In exorcising his ghosts, he reveals an account that is more impartial and more terrifying than Ronnie and Reggie ever could have written. From the murder of Jack "The Hat" McVitie—and the mystery of his undiscovered body—to the role of the Kray legacy in Britain’s prisons today, here is the last confession of a gangster determined to turn his back on his brutal past.

    Financially we were afloat and we lived in a perfectly decent house until my wife came up with the zany idea of living on a boat. I'd just got home from work, via the pub, when Jan asked me to watch a video while she prepared our frugal meal. I watched a pair of old fogies trundling along a canal in the rain on a narrowboat. You can imagine my reply when she asked if I fancied emulating the sodden wrinklies and taking to the water. She's a lady of vision and determination (she married me after all) but this was elevating madness to a whole new level. Jan's oncologist had her a few years previously that she probably wouldn't see the new millennium, so she had a different perspective about the future than many people. Despite lots of huffing and head-shaking, twelve months later we had sold a perfectly respectable house, given up a job that kept us in cornflakes and moved onto a metal hole less than a tenth the size of our house – excluding garden. It was the 4th July 2003 – independence day.We knew nothing about narrowboats – their workings, waterways lore and how we would cope being cooped up together – particularly when it's minus five and the nearest shop is miles away. We had a mountain to climb – which you can only do by using locks, and we'd never done a lock. A more accurate analogy is shooting the rapids because our venture took on a life of it's own and we were washed down stream on a tide of enthusiasm and ignorance. We had to make it work or the people who had laughed and scoffed would be proved right – we really were mad. Well, make it work we did, and we're still boating twelve years on. It's marvellous and it possibly saved Jan's life.

    Lots of laughs and tears are part of the job. Combat, test flying and, as the title implies, high risk. A Silver Star recipient, much of my OV-10 combat time was in Laos. Started with the F-100 in Europe and finished my career as test director to make the F-100 a target.

    The United States Bounty Hunter Western Adventures

    But none of their crimes were as heinous as the brutal murder of Mary Beth Tall Dog and the kidnapping of her young daughter. Gathering a group of hardened men as a posse, Deputy U.S. Marshal Hayden Tilden sets out to face the vicious foes in a fight for right—and his very own life . . .Praise for Lawdog: The Life and Times of Haydon Tilden“Lawdog should assume its rightful place beside other Western classics.” —Peter Brandvold, author of Once Hell Freezes Over“Lawdog has it all. I couldn’t put it down.” —Jack Ballas, author of West of the RiverAbout the Author:J. Lee Butts is the author of 22 published books and numerous magazine articles and short works. Brotherhood of Blood was runner-up for the Western Writers of America Spur Award in 2005. He’s worn many hats over the years (teacher, administrator, pool manager, IBM supervisor, and western author), and he and his late wife lived everywhere from Los Angeles to Dallas. Currently he’s hanging those hats back in White Hall, Arkansas.

    From 1873 until his death in 1896, Judge Isaac Charles Parker policed seventy-four thousand square miles, with two hundred or so lawmen. The area was called by several names; Last of the Western Frontier, Hell’s Fringe, The Nations and Indian Territory just to name a few. Several more names were used, but should not appear in print at this time.

    The town hall in Waco, Texas was alive with activity. Nearly every citizen, except for the sheriff, the bartenders and the men who preferred whiskey to politics, turned out to hear Senator Rodney P. Morgan discuss his plans for building a university of higher learning just outside of town. This was a big-ticket item for the people of Waco and they had high hopes for the new school. Good schools were few and far between out here, especially universities. The good ones, like Harvard and a few others, were all back east and very expensive. Henry Lowe, owner and pharmacist of the Corner Drugstore, set up a table near the front of the town hall where he handed out free bottles of his newly invented soda pop. He was still working on a name for it, but claimed it was a real pepper upper. The new drink was a big hit with the women and children, along with a few of the men. Not many, but a few. Most of the men preferred beer or whiskey, or even coffee to this sweet tasting non-alcoholic beverage. Two of the men who tried it said they enjoyed buttermilk over the sweet soda. Undaunted, Henry declared it a big success. Being a widower, Henry was also a big hit with many of the widow ladies in Waco and proclaimed his new soda drink would make him rich and famous. Senator Rodney P. Morgan, a large man in his fifties with a strong jaw, steel blue eyes, and mutton chop whiskers, stood on the stage looking out across the room filled with people. He had no doubt the idea of a university of higher learning would garner him the votes he needed to help get him elected for a second term. Whether he could actually raise the money, or build the school was of no consequence. If he could make them believe this was of a prime interest to him and he was trying to do as he promised, he was guaranteed to win their votes and that was why he was here. That’s what political campaigns were all about, winning votes, not actually getting anything done. If he’d learned anything during his first term, it was to make the voters believe you were looking after them and their interests. And, if he did actually get something passed that was important to them, they would say, “He did exactly what he promised to do and you can’t ask more than that.” BACK COVER The newspapers called him, "The Chameleon," because during each assassination the killer looks incredibly like someone that everyone knows, including the Governor of the state of Texas. When Clay Brentwood gets on his trail, he has to wonder if those around him are what they seem. Even, Clay's boss, Bill McDaniel, head of the Texas Rangers - has been acting strangely and Clay can't be sure he is the same man he has known all these years. For Clay, the problem is obvious - how does he stop a madman with no known identity?

    

    These memoirs take him from enjoying the odd cold beer sailing peacefully across the Indian Ocean to being trapped in a war zone. Here he sees life at sea changing from the leisurely days of general cargoes to the hectic computerised containerships. He seems to have done it all – rescuing drug runners from the ice, dredging aggregates in the North Sea and finally skippering a ‘steamer’ on a tranquil lake. This volume is the second of Bob’s memoirs covering his service as master on a wide variety of ships. The first book ‘I think I’ll go to sea’ relates to his experiences climbing up through the ranks. In this book he has to flee the USA to avoid arrest for drug smuggling, assists rescuing a ship’s crew when their ship sinks in pack ice and gets stuck in the middle of the Iraq/Iran war. He also experiences alcohol free ships which take away the pleasure of his ‘cold beer’

    Cameron Cooke... Mountain man and army scout Jacob Utah is called to guide a cavalry patrol across the harsh, relentless Arizona Territory. The purpose of the mission is a secret, known only to the soldiers. That suits Utah just fine, until the seemingly simple job takes a deadly turn. A mysterious sharpshooter begins shadowing the patrol, killing the soldiers one-by-one. Utah soon discovers the men he rides with are not what they seem, that they have a dark history which is coming back to haunt them. With fierce Apaches on the warpath and a sadistic gunman doggedly pursuing them at every turn, Utah must lead his dubious companions through scorching desert sands, treacherous canyons, and narrow mountain passes to reach an abandoned outpost at a place called Apache Butte, where old scores will be settled, and blood will be spilt...

    Now Franklin Dean is searching for his daughter with a U.S. Marshal. Dean and the lawman know that Andy has been picked up by the notorious Neville Hallidae gang. But what the manhunters don't know is how the presence of little Andy Dean is changing each one of the hard-bitten bank-robbers, and setting off a struggle among them. Now, as the law closes in on two sides, Andy is caught in between. Each outlaw knows Andy can identify them and that their final choice must be between her life...or theirs.

    

    A classic Wild West novel, tough and true. "The key to being a live gunfighter instead of a dead one is not to gun fight," said Wyatt Earp."How the hell do I do that?" Ronas said."Get up close and pistol-whip the son of a bitch. Buffalo him to his knees. Shove the barrel in his mouth and make him weep for mercy. Then arrest and shackle him. He won't want to trouble you again."

    Fly, beautiful, and quick-witted Storm doesn't chase money-money chases her; But it wasn't always that way. Born into poverty then later abandoned by her mother Storm was raised by her mentally abusive drug-addicted aunt. After partaking in acts that no child should even have to witness; Storm survives her turbulent childhood and stands stronger than ever. Soon Storm begins to feel that her life is complete; she has the money, the life, and a wonderful man who gave up his womanizing ways just t be with her...