Introduction
　　These essays。related to the complex phenomenon of corruption and the conduct of Dublic affairs，have been written over the past decade．  Most have been Publi sh but several for which I have retained copyright have not because at the time they were written I had to keep confidential．  All have been altered since for public release and revised．  reworked  and  rewritten．They  follow  from  almost  a  litetlme  spent investigating various aspects of corrupt practices which I  experienced  ddrectly and often were thejr victim．  Besides my own research and observation，I have collected over the vears a large volume of publications relating to corruptmn and malpractices that began long before public organizations，besides national archiVes much closed to
　　0utsiders，began t0 do SO as a public smwiee that much lightened ray task．Eany on，I ioined what was then a small group of academic researchers around the globe that specialized 0n public corruption and believed that the topic was researchable despnte much 0pposition．  Our studies opened the way to what has now become anindustry，growing by 1eaps and bounds as corruption emerged from the tab00s surroundmgit·
　　I began as a youngster growing up in wartime London and postwar austeⅢy ln the United Kingdom.lad become used to scarcity and deprivation whien I took for granted along with everybody else．There was talk of wartime profiteering and the black market but I never knew much about them．Indeed，1 was educated in the local school svstem to be above corruption，that is，to be honest，truthtul，scmpulous，law—abiding，and a model of virtue．  1 would not associate with anyone wh0 was not’Furthermore，  we  schoolchildren  were taught to denounce  cheating，dishonesty，stealing．  eruelty，  and  any  other kind  of activity that was  frowned uP0n  by  tne communitv and hotly resisted by our families，although seemingly tolerated by others wh0 we suspeeted of indulging．
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