Corky's Courage: An Alaskan Adventure, William C. Bill Richardson, Bill Richardson, 2012, 098853116X, 9780988531161, . Corky and her friend Mark, take a sightseeing flight along Southcentral Alaska’s beautiful and rugged Pacific coast line. Suddenly, they are in a life and death situation. For them to survive, Corky must meet nature’s challenges until someone can rescue them..

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Bill Richardson has lived over 45 years in Alaska, including Territorial days, and has a Bachelor degree in Biology and Secondary Education from the U of Alaska - Fairbanks. He has been a private pilot, Navy Search and Rescue navigator in the Aleutians, survival instructor, public and private school teacher, businessman, commercial and sports fisherman. He lives in Anchor Point, Alaska in a home he and his wife built primarily from recycled materials. Email: [email protected] or write to P.O.B. 1055 Anchor Point, Alaska 99

More than 45 years in Alaska has given Bill Richardson plenty of life experience — from pilot to fisherman, teacher to computer tech, businessman to sailor. He’s lived in Homer, Seldovia, Kodiak and Juneau, to name a few. As he settled into retirement in Anchor Point, Richardson decided to try something he hadn’t done yet: writing books.

After encouraging other Alaskans to write down their experiences, Richardson says he finally decided to follow his own advice. Nearly three years ago he published two e-books, “Corky’s Courage: An Alaskan Adventure― and “Corky and the Alaskan Oldtimer: An Alaskan Adventure Mystery.― This spring, after requests from friends, he had both books printed in hard copy.

In the kitchen the reclaimed list goes something like this: wood for the ceiling and ceiling trim, window frames and sills as well as kitchen shelving came from crates and old boards. The Richardsons pulled out any nails and staples, then planed the wood, cut it to size, sanded and finished it with a coat of Varathane. Richardson traded some work for the counter tops and cabinets, which were sanded and then repainted. The sink and faucet are both reclaimed and the gas stove was bought at a garage sale and converted to propane.

Everything in the house is built to either meet or exceed the current building codes. The Richardsons have also documented the whole building process and Richardson says he’s thought about writing a book on it sometime. But for now, Corky is enough to keep him busy. He’s already working on her next adventure.

“Corky’s Courage, An Alaskan Adventure,― is available for $11.95 and “Corky and the Alaskan Oldtimer: An Alaskan Adventure Mystery― is $18.95. Both can be purchased as e-books at www.thebookpatch.com or in print at the Homer Bookstore, the Homer Farmers’ Market and Anchor Point Natural Foods. Further up the road they are available at the Peddler’s Gift Shop in Ninilchick and the Ninilchick General Store.

Sharks are not evil. But they're single-minded and very, very hungry. On land, they take the form of bosses, businesspeople, colleagues, family, and sociopathic neighbors. In the world of former governor of New Mexico and US ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, they have taken the form of the most powerful people in the world. He's engaged in high-stakes, face-to-face negotiations with Castro, Saddam, the Taliban, two generations of North Korean leadership, and many more of the world's most infamous dictators—and done it so well he was known as the "Undersecretary of Thugs" while with the Clinton administration. Now the 5-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee tells these stories—from Washington, DC, to the Middle East to Pyongyang—in all their intense and sometimes absurd glory.

How to Sweet-Talk a Shark is a rare, candid, and entertaining glimpse into an insider's world of high-stakes negotiation—showing Richardson's successes and failures in some of the world's least friendly places. Meanwhile, readers get frank lessons in the art of negotiation: how to prepare, how to size up your opponent, how to understand the nature of power in a standoff, how to give up only what is necessary while getting what you want, and many other strategies Richardson has mastered through at-the-table experience—and from working with other master negotiators like Presidents Obama and Clinton, and Nelson Mandela. These are takeaways that anyone can use to negotiate with the power brokers, dealmakers, and, yes, the hungry sharks in their own lives.

How refreshing to read a book written by a bonafide politician with humility and humor - especially at this time when the government is shutdown! I read this book in 2 days and couldn't put it down. Richardson (with the help of Kevin Bleyer's great writing) outlines a career of failures and successes negotiating with all the "bad guys" of the world from Saddam Hussein to the Kim's of North Korea. Although written as a sort of manual on negotiating, I found the personal insider stories of his meetings to be utterly fascinating. I'll definitely be recommending this book to friends.

James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk character of the American Old West. Although some of his exploits as reported at the time were fictionalized, his skills as a and gambler, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his enduring fame. Born and raised on a farm in rural Illinois, Hickok went west at age 18 as a fugitive from justice, first working as a stagecoach driver, then as a lawman in the frontier territories of Kansas and Nebraska. He fought (and spied) for the Union Army during the American Civil War, and gained publicity after the war as a scout, marksman, actor, and professional gambler. Hickok was involved in several notable shootouts. He was shot from behind and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota) by an unsuccessful gambler. The card hand he held at the time of his death has come to be known today as poker's "Dead Man's Hand".

Hickok was born in Homer, Illinois (now Troy Grove, Illinois), on May 27, 1837, of English ancestry.[1] His birthplace is now the Memorial, a listed historic site under the supervision of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Hickok was a good shot from a very young age and was recognized locally as an outstanding marksman with a pistol.[2] Photographs of Hickok indicate he had dark hair. All contemporaneous descriptions however, confirm he was, in fact, golden blond.[3]

In 1855, at age 18, Hickok moved to Leavenworth in the Kansas Territory following a fight with Charles Hudson in which both fell into a canal. Mistakenly thinking he had killed Hudson, Hickok fled the area and joined General Jim Lane's "Free State Army" (or Jayhawkers),[4] a vigilante group then active in the Kansas Territory. While a Jayhawker, he met 12-year-old William Cody (later known as "Buffalo Bill") who, despite his age, was a scout for the U.S. Army during the Utah War.[5]

While in Nebraska, Hickok was derisively referred to as "Duck Bill" (especially by business acquaintance, David McCanles, and his associates).[6] He grew a mustache following the McCanles incident (see below), and in 1861 began calling himself "Wild Bill".[7][8] When later recounting his exploits to audiences, he claimed that his nickname until 1861 had been "Shanghai Bill", given to him, he said, by the Jayhawkers because of his height and slim build.[9]

Hickok used the name William Hickok from 1858 and William Haycock during the Civil War. Arrested as Haycock in 1865, he afterward resumed using his real name of James Hickok. Most newspapers continued to use the name William Haycock when referring to "Wild Bill" until 1869. Military records after 1865 used his correct name, although acknowledging he was also known as Haycock.[10][11]

In 1857, Hickok claimed a 160-acre (0.65 km2) tract in Johnson County, Kansas (in what is now Lenexa).[12] On March 22, 1858, he was elected as one of the first four constables of Monticello Township, Kansas. In 1859, he joined the Russell, Waddell, & Majors freight company, the parent company of the Pony Express. The following year, he was badly injured by a bear while driving a freight team from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, Texas. According to Hickok's own account, he found the road blocked by a Cinnamon bear and its two cubs. Dismounting, he approached the bear and fired a shot into its head, but the bullet ricocheted from its skull, infuriating it. The bear attacked, crushing Hickok with its body. Hickok managed to fire another shot, disabling the bear's paw. The bear then grabbed his arm in its mouth, but Hickok was able to grab his knife and slash its throat, killing it. Badly injured with a crushed chest, shoulder and arm, Hickok was bedridden for four months before being sent to the Rock Creek Station in Nebraska to work as a stable hand while he recovered. The station was built on land which the company had recently purchased from a local, David McCanles.[9]

When the Civil War broke out in April 1861, Hickok signed on as a teamster (an outfitter or packer) for the Union Army in Sedalia, Missouri. By the end of the year, he was a wagon-master, but in September 1862 he was discharged for an undisclosed reason. There are no known records of his whereabouts for over a year, though at least one source claims that Hickok was operating as a Union spy in Confederate territory during this time.[13] In late 1863 he was openly employed by the provost marshal of southwest Missouri as a member of the Springfield, Missouri detective police.

Hickok's duties as a police detective were mostly mundane, and included counting the number of troops in uniform found drinking while on duty, checking hotel liquor licenses, and tracking down individuals in debt to the cash-strapped Union Army. In 1864, Hickok, along with several other detective police, had not been paid for some time. He either resigned or was reassigned, as he was hired by General John B. Sanborn that year as a scout (at five dollars a day plus a horse and equipment). In June 1865, Hickok was mustered out and afterward spent his time in and around Springfield gambling.[13] According to the History of Greene County, Missouri published in 1883, Hickok at this time was "by nature a ruffian... a drunken, swaggering fellow, who delighted when 'on a spree' to frighten nervous men and timid women."[14]

In 1861 Hickok was involved in a deadly shootout with David McCanles[15] at the Rock Creek Station, near Fairbury, Nebraska. The veracity of the events of that day is still subject to debate. On December 16, 40-year-old David McCanles, his 12-year-old son William Monroe McCanles, and two farmhands, James Woods and James Gordon, called at the station's office to demand payment of the overdue second installment on the property. David McCanles was allegedly threatening the station manager, Horace Wellman, when he was shot by either Hickok (who was hiding behind a curtain) or Wellman.

On July 21, 1865, in the town square of Springfield, Missouri, Hickok met and killed Davis Tutt in a "quick draw duel" –the first of its kind. Fiction later popularized Hickok's "quick draw gunfight" as typical, but Hickok's is the first one on record to fit the portrayal. During the duel, rather than the face-to-face fast-draw as is commonly shown in movies, the two men faced each other sideways in the historic dueling stance (presenting a smaller target), drawing and aiming their weapons before firing.[19]

Hickok first met former Confederate Army soldier Davis Tutt in early 1865, while both were gambling in Springfield. Hickok often borrowed money from Tutt and they were originally friends,[20] but they had a falling out over a woman. (It was also rumored that Hickok once had an affair with Tutt's sister, perhaps fathering a child.) There was also a long-standing dispute over Hickok's girlfriend, Susannah Moore. Hickok refused to play cards with Tutt, who retaliated by financing other players in an attempt to bankrupt him.[5]

The dispute came to a head when Tutt was coaching an opponent of Hickok's during a card game. Hickok was on a winning streak, and the frustrated Tutt requested he repay a $40 loan, which Hickok immediately did. Tutt then demanded another $35 owed from a previous card game. Hickok refused, as he had a "memorandum" proving it to be for $25. Tutt then took Hickok's watch, which was lying on the table, as collateral for the $35, at which point Hickok warned him not to wear it or he, Hickok, would shoot him. The next day, Tutt appeared in the square wearing the watch prominently, and Hickok tried to negotiate the watch's return. Tutt stated he would now accept no less than $45, but both agreed they would not fight over it and went for a drink together. Tutt left the saloon, but returned to the square at 6 p.m., while Hickok arrived on the other side and warned him not to approach him while wearing the watch. Both men faced each other and fired almost simultaneously. Tutt's shot missed, but Hickok's did not, piercing Tutt through the heart from about 75 yards away. Tutt called out, "Boys, I'm killed" before he collapsed and died.[21]

Two days later Hickok was arrested for murder (the charge was later reduced to manslaughter). He was released on $2,000 bail and stood trial on August 3, 1865. At the end of the trial, Judge Sempronius H. Boyd gave the jury two contradictory instructions. He first instructed the jury that a conviction was its only option under the law.[22] He then instructed them that they could apply the unwritten law of the "fair fight" and acquit.[23] The jury voted for acquittal, a verdict that was not popular at the time.[24]

Several weeks later, Hickok was interviewed by Colonel George W. Nichols, and the interview was published in Harper's New Monthly Magazine. Using the name "Wild Bill Hitchcock" [sic], the article recounted the "hundreds" of men whom Hickok had personally killed, and other exaggerated exploits. The article was controversial wherever Hickok was known, and it led to several frontier newspapers writing rebuttals.[25]

After completing a cattle drive in early 1871, outlaw was in Abilene. Hardin was a well known gunfighter and is known to have killed over 27 men in his lifetime.[26] In his 1895 autobiography – published after his death – Hardin claimed to have been befriended by Hickok, the newly elected town marshal, after he had disarmed the marshal using the famous road agent's spin. This was supposedly during a failed attempt by Hickok to arrest him for wearing his pistols in town. This story is considered to be at the very least an exaggeration, as Hardin claimed this at a time when Hickok could not defend himself. It does appear, however, that Hardin idolized Hickok and identified on some level with him.[5][27] As for Hickok's part, it is reported that he didn't even know that "Wesley Clemmons" (Hardin's alias at the time) was in fact a wanted outlaw, simply advising Hardin to avoid problems while in Abilene. When Hardin was confronted by Hickok and told to hand over his guns, he did.[28] It is also alleged by Hardin that when his cousin, Mannen Clements, was jailed for the killing of two cowhands, Hickok –at Hardin's request– arranged for his escape.[29]

Hickok's next encounter with the outlaw, in August of that same year, had quite a different ending. This time, Hickok was in pursuit of Hardin after he had killed a man named Charles Couger in an Abilene Hotel "for snoring too loud". Hardin quickly left Kansas never to return, thereby avoiding a confrontation with Hickok.

Hickok and Phil Coe, a saloon owner and acquaintance of Hardin's, had an ongoing dispute that resulted in a shootout. The Bull's Head Tavern in Abilene had been established by gambler and his partner, businessman and fellow gambler Coe. The two entrepreneurs had painted a picture of a bull with a large erect penis on the side of their establishment as an advertisement. Citizens of the town complained to Hickok. When Thompson and Coe refused his request to remove the bull, Hickok altered it himself. Infuriated, Thompson tried to incite Hardin into action by exclaiming to him, "He's a damn Yankee. Picks on rebels, especially Texans, to kill." Hardin, in town under his assumed name, "Wesley Clemmons" (but better known to the townspeople by the alias, "Little Arkansas"), seemed to have had respect for Hickok's abilities, and replied, "If Bill needs killing why don't you kill him yourself?"[30] Wishing to intimidate Hickok, Coe had supposedly stated he could "kill a crow on the wing". Hickok's retort is one of the West's most famous sayings (though possibly apocryphal): "Did the crow have a pistol? Was he shooting back? I will be."

On October 5, 1871, Hickok was standing off a crowd during a street brawl, during which time Coe fired two shots. Hickok ordered him to be arrested for firing a pistol within the city limits. Coe explained he was shooting at a stray dog,[31] but suddenly turned his gun on Hickok, who fired first and killed Coe. Hickok caught a glimpse of movement of someone running toward him and quickly fired two more shots in reaction, accidentally shooting and killing Abilene Special Deputy Marshal Mike Williams who was coming to his aid.[32] This event haunted Hickok for the remainder of his life.[33] There is another account of the Coe shootout: Theophilus Little, mayor of Abilene and owner of the town's lumberyard, recorded his time in Abilene by writing in a notebook that was recently given to the Abilene Historical Society. Writing in 1911, he detailed his admiration of Hickok and included a paragraph on the shooting that differs considerably from the reported account:

"Phil" Coe was from Texas, ran the "Bull’s Head" a saloon and gambling den, sold whiskey and men’s souls. A vile a character as I ever met for some cause Wild Bill incurred Coe’s hatred and he vowed to secure the death of the Marshall. Not having the courage to do it himself, he one day filled about 200 cowboys with whiskey intending to get them into trouble with Wild Bill, hoping that they would get to shooting and in the melee shoot the marshal. But Coe "reckoned without his host". Wild Bill had learned of the scheme and cornered Coe, had his two pistols drawn on Coe. Just as he pulled the trigger one of the policemen rushed around the corner between Coe and the pistols and both balls entered his body, killing him instantly. In an instant, he pulled the triggers again sending two bullets into Coe's abdomen (Coe lived a day or two) and whirling with his two guns drawn on the drunken crowd of cowboys, "and now do any of you fellows want the rest of these bullets?" Not a word was uttered.[34]

Hickok was reported to be "an inveterate hater of Indians", but it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. Witnesses confirm that while working as a scout out of Fort Harker, Kansas on May 11, 1867, Hickok was attacked by a large group of Indians, who fled after Hickok shot and killed two. In July, Hickok told a newspaper reporter he had led several soldiers in pursuit of Indians who had killed four men near the fort on July 2. He reported returning with five prisoners after killing ten. Witnesses confirm the story was true in part; the party did set out to find those who had killed the four men, but the group returned to the fort "without nary a dead Indian, [never] even seeing a live one".[35]

In September 1865, Hickok came in second in the election for city marshal of Springfield. Leaving Springfield, he was recommended for the position of deputy United States marshal at Fort Riley, Kansas. This was during the Indian wars in which Hickok sometimes served as a scout for General George A. Custer's 7th Cavalry.[5] http://kgarch.org/fal.pdf http://kgarch.org/2c7.pdf http://kgarch.org/7f4.pdf