Hired Guns

Over the last several decades, employers have increasingly replaced permanent employees with temporary workers and independent contractors to cut labor costs and enhance flexibility. Although commentators have focused largely on low-wage temporary work, the use of skilled contractors has also grown exponentially, especially in high-technology areas. Yet almost nothing is known about contracting or about the people who do it. This book seeks to break the silence. Gurus, Hired Guns, and Warm Bodies tells the story of how the market for temporary professionals operates from the perspective of the contractors who do the work, the managers who employ them, the permanent employees who work beside them, and the staffing agencies who broker deals. Based on a year of field work in three staffing agencies, life histories with over seventy contractors and studies of workers in some of America's best known firms, the book dismantles the myths of temporary employment and offers instead a grounded description of how contracting works. Engagingly written, it goes beyond rhetoric to examine why contractors leave permanent employment, why managers hire them, and how staffing agencies operate. Barley and Kunda paint a richly layered portrait of contract professionals. Readers learn how contractors find jobs, how agents negotiate, and what it is like to shoulder the risks of managing one's own "employability." The authors illustrate how the reality of flexibility often differs substantially from its promise. Viewing the knowledge economy in terms of organizations and markets is not enough, Barley and Kunda conclude. Rather, occupational communities and networks of skilled experts are what grease the skids of the high-tech, "matrix economy" where firms become way stations in the flow of expertise.

Johnstone Country. Where Frontier Legends Are Born. A legend among bounty hunters, Luke Jensen has tracked some of the deadliest outlaws in the West. But sometimes, the competition can be even deadlier . . . GHOST TOWN MASSACRE It’s the kind of job Luke Jensen hates. A millionaire mine owner is willing to pay $5,000 to the man who captures the half-breed outlaw Tom Eagle. Normally, Luke would turn down an offer like this—it smacks too much of being a hired gun. But when the millionaire tells him that Eagle is responsible for killing his son, Luke agrees to take on the job. Which means he’ll have to take the road to hell itself—aka Hard Rock, Montana . . . Hard Rock is supposed to be a ghost town. But when Luke arrives, the ghosts are alive and well—and gunning for his hide. They’re a gang of actual hired guns—the kind of soulless killers Luke despises—and they’re trying to collect the bounty, too. Luke barely makes it out of town alive when he runs in to the only man who can save him. The man he’s been hired to hunt. The notorious Tom Eagle . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

This innovative book provides an overview and critical assessment of the current avenues and remedies available to victims seeking recourse from private military and security companies (PMSCs) for human rights violations.

Hired gunfighter Cole Jardine has decided to call time on his dangerous profession when he receives a mysterious job offer from the Colorado town of Red Mesa. All set to ignore it, his partner Waco Santee suddenly arrives back at their cabin in Wyoming to announce that the army are hot on their heels. With minutes to spare, flight across the border is their only option. The pair succeed in evading pursuit and then head their separate ways. But nothing is ever that simple. A bushwhacker attempts to remove Cole but fails. Arriving in Red Mesa, he is then challenged to a shoot-out by rancher Ed Clifford who claims the gunslinger has been hired by an unscrupulous crook who wants to steal his land. Which faction will the hired gun support? And how will he react when his old partner turns up backing the opposing side in the dispute?

While much is known about the frontline of politics, little is revealed about the professionals who labor in secret to make the system work. Hired Gun: A Political Odyssey examines how political parties function and how elections are won or lost. This book follows the adventures of one man's behind-the-scenes political consulting career from local, to state, to national politics. As a political practice, the democratic system remains the most successful form of government in the history of civilization. However, as a profession, politics is still in its youth and riddled with flaws. By offering readers an insider's perspective, Alex Ray challenges us to draw our own conclusion as to whether or not this country's method of selecting leaders is current or fair. In today's political campaigns few decisions are ever as simple as black and white. Hired Gun is an exclusive look at what goes on in the grey.

From the Author of 'War Paint' and 'Jake Masters, Bounty Hunter' The dusty mining town of Bannack, Montana harbors a fierce rivalry, two businessmen will do anything for advantage over their competition...even if it means murder. Myles Sams is a hired killer, not young any more but wise enough to stay alive, even if that means shooting first. When Myles' services are acquired to streamline Bannack's current business community, he soon realizes he's gunning for the wrong side. With a mini war brewing, Myles defects, offering his six guns to his former target side. But all is not what it seems, additional unseen forces are at work, quietly ripping the small town apart at the seams. When crooked vigilantes get wind of Myles' plan to set things right, all hell's gonna break loose. Brutal and action-packed - another gripping western from W.R. Benton. Keywords: Montana,vigilante,hanging,Sharps,gunfighter,Colt,saloon

Despite her father's attempts to marry her off, Anna Finch dreams of becoming a reporter. A chance encounter with legendary gunslinger Doc Holliday gives her the opportunity of a lifetime, but Pinkerton agent Jeb Sanders is about to ruin everything. Though her father hired Jeb to keep her out of mischief, Anna's inconvenient attraction to her hired gun only multiplies her troubles. She doesn't realize Jeb has a score to settle with Doc Holliday, or that her association with the famous outlaw will affect more than just her marriage prospects.