What's an honest man to do? Isn't that always the question we find ourselves wondering when we get swept up in something bad... Something overpowering and tangibly wrong, with the ability to corrupt our morals down to the core? These boys, they're not mine, but they might as well be. I'm responsible for them, in a sense. And they couldn't be more different, identical in looks alone. One I've noticed... The other has noticed me. One needs me, the other needs him. Sometimes a hero will fall on his own sword, but in my case... I've fallen on two. ** Double-edged is a full-length taboo standalone novel that is intended for mature readers only. Some of the themes in this book could make readers uncomfortable. Please proceed with caution, and heed the author’s warnings.**
"As digital media becomes more omnipresent in our lives, it becomes ever more important for political scientists and communication scholars to understand its influence on all aspects of the political process--from campaigning to governance. Catie Snow Bailard seeks to determine the Internet's influence on citizens' evaluations of their governments' performance, particularly whether the Internet influences their satisfaction regarding the quality of democratic practices available in their nation. While it is clearly important to understand how the Internet can streamline political organization once people are moved to action, the discipline has afforded less attention to whether the Internet influences citizens at this more foundational, antecedent stage of political action. Bailard originates two theories for democratization specialists to consider: mirror-holding and window-opening. Mirror-holding explores how accessing the Internet allows citizens to see a more detailed and nuanced view of their own government's performance, dirty laundry and all. Window-opening, on the other hand, enables those same citizens to see how other governments' perform in general, particularly in comparison to their own. The author offers a theory of the impact of Internet use on evaluations of government, as well as tests of that theory at the country and individual levels based on survey data collected in 73 countries and two field experiments conducted in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Tanzania"--
She was just humoring her friend. She got adventure and a soul mate. Double-Edged joins Kate, a small, independent shop owner on her quest for romance and happily ever after. Against her better judgment, against her wishes, she allows her friend to push her into the world of online dating, where she encounters the most infuriating, stranger, and yet most interesting man she has ever come across. Over several intense months of correspondence, Kate becomes embroiled in a global adventure with a man she knows either too little or too much about and discovers the truth behind the old saying, 'What the heart wants, the heart gets.' Or was that how it went? If not, maybe it should be changed. Discover this sun-drenched romance, the first in the inspirational and wedding series Perfect Halves, which depicts contemporary relationships, love, adventure and conspiracies. As a reader said: "Interesting romance. Plot develops nicely and actually held my attention unlike some recent romance out there. The story itself has something for more than just one age-group. Good for a wide audience. Female lead is amusing and plays along nicely with the rest of the cast. Fun, quite short book for some distraction." If you love a sizzling romance, then buy this book and dive in Kate's adventure.
The line between friend and foe is getting blurry—and that's where the fun begins. **Series complete! (5 books)** Businesman Willem Jaantzen has spent decades trying to shake the notorious reputation he gained from his early days surviving on the streets. He’s finally been accepted by the city's business elite, but that’s all in danger of crumbling when a mystery only he can solve threatens to tear apart the city of Bulari—and endanger his crew. Because Thala Coeur is dead. Almost everyone had a reason to take a hit out on the notorious crime boss, but when she finally gets that bullet to the head, all eyes turn to Jaantzen. Whether or not he finally got revenge for his wife and children's murder isn't the most important question, though. Because Coeur’s death created a power imbalance that threatens to plunge the city into another civil war. And Jaantzen is the only one who can stop it. What started as a turf war quickly spirals out of control, because the puzzle Coeur left behind is way out of Jaantzen’s league. As he and his crew are swallowed up in a web of lies, betrayals, and interplanetary politics, Jaantzen's realizing this secret isn't just worth killing for, it's worth coming back from the dead for. And it’ll only take one stray spark to start another civil war in the underworld. Double Edged is the first book of the Bulari Saga, a five book series featuring gunfights, dinner parties, explosions, motorcycle chases, underworld intrigue, and a fiercely plucky found family who have each other's backs at every step. Perfect for fans of The Expanse, Firefly, and The Godfather. Download Double Edged and start the adventure today.
This is the story of an unlikely heroa gay man in the most masculine of worlds who triumphed over prejudice and adversity as he achieved what no American had ever accomplished, teaching even Hemingway lessons in grace, machismo, and respect.
For Donald W. Tucker, life from the get-go was a two-edged sword-a "damned if you do/ damned if you don't" black & white shades & wing-tips jungle existence of working the streets of Southside Chicago undercover ("with no cover") as a Federal narcotics and SS agent. Tucker was quick, sharp and street smart. Ultimately he rose through the ranks to become one of America's foremost federal law enforcement administrators and reformers. The Two-Edged Sword is a grim, gutsy, raw in-your-face first-hand account of what it was like to be Black and work as an undercover agent for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now called the DEA), and United States Secret Service from 1961-1990-some of the toughest years in this country's history of Civil Rights. Tucker's life story reads like a best-selling 007 whodunit, more fiction than fact-yet all of it really happened. "Too many times the risks were far greater than anticipated, but I was young and dumb," writes Tucker. "I didn't know what I was doing until I felt a .45 slammed against my head. Or, until I found myself being cuffed and dragged into a police car manned by an officer who had no way of knowing I was an undercover agent." "That I survived to tell my story is sheer luck," admits Tucker, whose office walls are plastered with certificates, awards and citations for his outstanding service. Tucker was born and raised in a postage stamp apartment that housed five children and four adults. A football scholarship to the University of Iowa served as his ticket to a better life. In 1961 he received his B.A. with a major in sociology and was immediately hired as an undercover agent for the Chicago FBN. In 1962, Tucker was serving in one of the U.S. Military units called in to escort black student James Meredith through the front door of Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. Just as they were about take off for Oxford, however, Tucker and all other blacks were singled out and ordered to stay on base. This act of segregation was a turning point in Tucker's adult life. From that time on and for the rest of his life, he became a voice to be reckoned with as a Civil Rights advocate. In the Federal Law Enforcement agencies and in subsequent positions as U.S. Marshal for the District of Arizona and Protector for the Federal Courts, he was nicknamed "Tucker the Troublemaker." After a career with the USSS for almost 25 years, Tucker retired in March 1990. On March 26, 1990, he was sworn in as U.S. Marshal for the District of Arizona. In August 1994, Tucker was appointed Chief of Court Security for the Administrative Office of the United States Courts in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, he monitored the security provided to the Federal Judiciary and supervised the $150 million budget. He also coordinated the investigation of the bombing of the Federal Courthouse in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Tucker returned to Arizona in March 1996, and in January 1997, he started his own Investigations Company, T.I.P.S. (Tucker Investigations and Protective Services).
'Sixteen's an interesting age: not quite a fully grown man, but not a kid either. Anything is possible when you're sixteen.' Finmere Tingewick Smith was abandoned on the steps of the Old Bailey. Under the guardianship of the austere Judge Harlequin Brown and the elderly gentlemen of Orrery House, Fin has grown up under a very strange set of rules. He spends alternate years at two very different schools and now he's tired of the constant lies to even his best friends, to hide the insanity of his double life. Neither would believe the truth! But on his sixteenth birthday, everything changes. The Judge is killed, stabbed in the chest with a double-edged sword that's disturbingly familiar, and from that moment on, Fin is catapulted into an extraordinary adventure. Through the Doorway in Fin's London, a hole in the boundaries of Existence, lies another London - and now both are in grave danger. For the Knights of Nowhere have kidnapped the Storyholder, the keeper of the Five Eternal Stories which weave the worlds together. Because of the Knights' actions, a black storm is coming, bringing madness with it. Fin may be just 16, but he has a long, dark journey ahead of him if he is to rescue the Storyholder and save Existence!
When SAS vet. Lacklan Walker buries his father at the family graveyard in New England, the last person he expects to see at the funeral is his childhood friend and sweetheart, Marni - the woman who'd killed his father. To make things more complicated, his father's dying wish was that Lacklan should look after her and protect her. Because Marni is on a mission, a mission to bring down the shadowy organization called Omega, the government within a government, a mission that might just save Mankind. But when Lacklan tracks her down to Tucson, Arizona, his biggest enemy turns out to be his own passion, his own need for redemption. A need that leads him astray and drags him ever deeper, as avenger and executioner, into the cross-border trade in crack cocaine and young Mexican prostitutes. But will his blind hunger for justice drive him to forget his promise to his father? Will it lead him to make the biggest mistake of his life - a mistake that could have disastrous consequences not just for him and Marni, but for the world...?
This original look at the dynamics of international relations untangles the vigorous interaction of domestic and international politics on subjects as diverse as nuclear disarmament, human rights, and trade. An eminent group of political scientists demonstrates how international bargaining that reflects domestic political agendas can be undone when it ignores the influence of domestic constituencies.The eleven studies in "Double-Edged Diplomacy" provide a major step in furthering a more complete understanding of how politics "between" nations affects politics "within" nations and vice versa. The result is a striking new paradigm for comprehending world events at a time when the global and the domestic are becoming ever more linked.
Double Edge Sword is a dramatic, fictional adventure of African American Literary Folklore. It realistically depicts situations of unpredictable circumstances that develop during the life of Jason Philips, a young man who suddenly finds his secure way of life being threatened. Disenchanted, he watches a community that was once governed by wisdom, fall prey to a plot toward the demise of its moral structure. Using tactics designed to produce peaceful resolutions, Jason courageously embarks on a self-proclaimed mission to rectify the dilemma. Although sometimes for solutions, he often resorts to dealing with morally questionable collaborations that offer answers, but demand that his spiritual discernment be thoroughly tested. Ultimately, a battle between good and evil is initiated, and to the victor, the prize at hand is the control of the minds of a culture of people.
