At 5:41 p.m. May 22, 2011, the deadliest single tornado to hit the United States in 50 years tore its way through Joplin, Missouri. By the time it completed its murderous course, 160 lives were lost, and those who survived have stories they can tell for the rest of their lives. Two veteran southwest Missouri reporters, Randy Turner and John Hacker, share some of those stories in 5:41. The book features photos taken by Hacker within moments of the deadly tornado and details about some of the horrific moments that came to symbolize May 22, 2011, in Joplin, Missouri. The book includes the following: -First person stories of the horrors of the tornado -Photographs taken moments after 5:41 -The obituaries of those who died May 22 or later from injuries received in the tornado -Details from three hospitals that served the community well, including one that was hit by the tornado -The nightmarish experiences of those who had just graduated from Joplin High School moments before the tornado destroyed the building. -The outpouring of volunteering that made Joplin stand for hope in the days after May 22. -The complete text of the Joplin Tornado Memorial Service held at Missouri Southern State University, including the speeches by President Barack Obama, Gov. Jay Nixon, and Rev. Aaron Brown -The final National Weather Service report -The heroes who gave their lives to save others This book offers a revealing look at the day that changed Joplin, Missouri, forever.

If the shooter doesn't get them, the system will. That proved to be the case for author Randy Turner, as the veteran teacher was fired from his teaching job in Joplin, Missouri, for writing this book. No Child Left Alive tells the story of one year at dysfunctional Franklin Heights High School, where the teachers battle administrators seeking to pad their resumes at the expense of the students' education and find themselves at the mercy of a criminal element that has been lured back into the school in a misguided effort to increase graduation rates. At the center of the storm is Assistant Superintendent Abigail Saucier, who after being passed over for the top job after the death of the former superintendent (and Abigail's lover) is determined to make Franklin Heights a model of innovation through a series of new programs that confound and frustrate the faculty. Abigail also has to deal with a deadbeat husband, a promiscuous daughter, and a growing attraction to her daughter's boyfriend, drug-dealing gang leader Rico Salazar. Opposing Abigail's plans to remake education at Franklin Heights is Teacher of the Year Walter Tollivar, who has his own problems- a crippling case of claustrophobia, and an attraction to a younger teacher, who five years earlier had been one of his students, and who is now so afraid of her own students that she has begun carrying a gun. As the teachers battle to hold on to their sanity, a bullied student plans a revenge designed to make everyone forget Columbine. No Child Left Alive is a satirical, yet frightening, view of education in Obama's America- a wasteland where test scores and statistics are everything, and teachers are cannon fodder for glory-hungry administrators and clueless politicians.

The EF-5 tornado that ripped through the heart of Joplin, Missouri, May 22, 2011, killed 161 people and damaged one-third of the community. What it did not do was destroy the indomitable nature of the people who live in this city of 50,000. Spirit of Hope: The Year After the Joplin Tornado tells the story of how Joplin residents began the rebuilding process almost immediately. The heroes of this book are many- not just the leaders whose faces became familiar on local and national news, but the volunteers from Joplin and the world. Spirit of Hope, the follow-up book to 5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado, is the inspirational story of the city that would not die. The book includes the following: -Original reporting from its authors, veteran newspaper reporter John Hacker and teacher and former reporter Randy Turner -First person accounts from tornado survivors and volunteers -Photos from the tornado and the major events of the following year -Complete texts of important speeches, including those given by President Barack Obama, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr, School Superintendent C. J. Huff, and radio personality Rush Limbaugh Coverage of the tornado, the memorial service one week later, the Extreme Makeover build, Habitat for Humanity, the visit of the 9-11 flag, the improbable day that school started on time only 87 days after 10 schools had been destroyed or damaged, the high school prom, the graduation and the inspiring Day of Unity on the one-year anniversary -Testaments to the important role that faith, both from within and outside of Joplin helped the city's residents recover from the nation's worst tornado in six decades -Official documents, including the final National Weather Service report on the tornado and the Center for Disease Control report on a mysterious fungus that attacked some of those who went through the tornado -A forward written by one of the heroes of May 22, 2011, and the days afterward in Joplin- Fire Chief Mitch Randles Spirit of Hope: The Year After the Joplin Tornado, is a stirring tribute to the people of Joplin and the people from across the nation and the world who offered them a hand when they needed it the most.

Earlier this year, former Joplin, Missouri classroom teacher Randy Turner struck a chord with teachers across the United States in a Huffington Post essay in which he recommended that young people not become classroom teachers. That essay, which received more than 180,000 Facebook likes and was shared more than 50,000 times, is included in Let Teachers Teach, a collection of Turner's essays on today's education, his own teaching, and colleagues and students who have touched his life. In Let Teachers Teach, Turner, a former newspaper reporter and editor, offers his first collection of essays detailing the problems in American education and most of those problems, he says, start with those who are needlessly trying to reform it. Turner addresses the attacks made on teachers, the billionaire reformers, teaching to the test, and the lies that are told to make discipline statistics look better. The book also features Turner's essays on a former student's suicide, tributes to a fired principal and an inspirational teacher, and his writing on the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado and its effect and on his school and his teaching. The collection also includes Turner's updates on several of the essays. The book is Turner's sixth non-fiction work, following The Turner Report, Newspaper Days, 5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado, Spirit of Hope: The Year After the Joplin Tornado, and Scars from the Tornado: One Year at Joplin East Middle School. He has also written three novels.

When the most deadly tornado to hit the United States in six decades roared through Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011, it destroyed one-third of the city, and took 161 lives. Among those most affected by the natural disaster were the 500 students of East Middle School, most of whom lived in the path of the tornado. Many of the students lost their homes and had their lives changed forever. One student lost his life. Scars from the Tornado tells the story of how those students and the staff at East Middle School battled their tornado demons, moving their base of operations to an empty warehouse on the outskirts of the district and starting school on time, just 87 days after the tornado. In their own words, students tell their tornado stories and recount the events of their most unlikely school year. Randy Turner, an eighth grade English teacher at East and co-author of 5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado and Spirit of Hope, reveals how he and his fellow faculty members battled to make a warehouse into a school and a second home for the children. Scars from the Tornado is the heartwarming story about how teachers and students faced one of the most challenging years any school has ever had.

"They were here Friday, they were here Saturday, and those nuts were sprinkled on our Sunday."

When veteran southwest Missouri newspaper editor Randy Turner wrote those words he never dreamed he was opening the door to a $1.5 billion libel suit and the end of a storied newspaper career that saw him earn more than 100 awards, including 30 for investigative reporting.

In "Newspaper Days," Turner's follow-up to the highly successful The Turner Report, he relives his 22 years as a reporter and editor, including how:

-He encountered a gang of armed drug dealers after his editorial resulted in a police crackdown

-His failure to deal with the murder of a close friend haunted him after his first newspaper job

-One publisher fired him twice by mail, and another told him he would never work in newspapers again.

-He ran afoul of a 400-pound city marshal, and a gun-toting father during his time with the Newton County News

-His coverage of corruption in a small town police department, the Nancy Cruzan right-to-die case, and a governor's race between three Missouri legends- Mel Carnahan, Roy Blunt, and Bill Webster, catapulted him to a front-tier status among Missouri journalists.

. "Newspaper Days" is entertaining, funny, fast-moving, and a must-read for those who remember a time when a newspaper was the heart and soul of a community.

Each day, Missouri reporters and politicians, and many in our nation's capital, read "The Turner Report" to get their first glimpse at stories that later appear in the traditional media. In his first non-fiction book, Randy Turner offers a collection of some of his favorite stories, old and new, including: A minor presidential candidate fakes his death, then mounts a political comeback. Small town police officers terrorize teens and minorities until a brutal beating in the city jail brings their deeds to light. In Missouri's best-remembered gubernatorial primary race, the loser became one of the most powerful men in the country; the winner ended up in a federal penitentiary. An angry mob is ready to kill two men it believes were involved in the Oklahoma City bombing. The grieving parents of Nancy Cruzan go to the U. S. Supreme Court and back to prove their daughter has a right to die. The special interests backing Congressman Roy Blunt and his son, Missouri Governor Matt Blunt, are revealed. Combine those stories with Turner's examination of the effect lobbyists and special interests are having on Missouri and Washington, and you have a must-read book as the nation prepares for the 2008 elections.

On one hot August night, 15-year-old Cassandra Harper's life is shattered. First, she becomes a victim of date rape, then the body of her beloved father, Richard Harper, is found slumped over the computer he gave Cassandra for her 15th birthday.

From that point on, Cassandra withdraws from the world, reserving her communications to her anonymously-written blog.and to instant messenger conversations with her dead father.

"Devil's Messenger, " a combination horror story and murder mystery, is the story of how Cassandra battles from the brink of despair to reclaim her life, and her evil father who attempts to continue his reign of terror from beyond the grave.

Adding to the mix is Richard Harper's murderer, who is manipulating Cassandra's family and everyone else in the small community of Westport seeking the hidden fortune that Harper left behind.

"Devil's Messenger" is a roller-coaster ride of terror from beginning to end.

It's a lousy day in Rockport. The bank was robbed, a man was killed, and in what may or may not be a coincidence, the school superintendent vanished without a trace. It couldn't have worked out any better for high school journalist Tiffany Everett. Everything happened on the first day of her one-week internship at an area television station. Tiffany has a chance to see small town journalism at its best and its worst, as she deals with an intriguing group of characters: Shannon Starbuck - the hometown girl and star reporter to whom Tiffany is assigned. Willie Taylor - her journalism teacher, who shares a past with Shannon. Kirk Robbins - the boy wonder newspaper editor who is willing to cut corners to beat the competition on the biggest story that has ever hit Rockport. During seven exciting days, Tiffany Everett sees the permanent damage that can be done when the media circus hits a small town. And if she's lucky, she may live to see football homecoming.