The Rigoberta Menchu Controversy, Arturo Arias, Editor Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I learned of this book while helping produce a documentary on immigration problems in Guatemala, “Guatemala: Trouble in the Highlands,” when I announced that I was planning to recruit anthropologist David Stoll to work with us. I’d read his excellent studies, “Between Two Armies” and “Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans,” which he researched with extensive interviews in the Ixil Triangle region of Guatemala. But when I announced his involvement, a number of our advisors said they’d abandon the project if we included Stoll. Evidently, […]
Continue readingMonthly Archives: June 2020
Book Review – Fiction: Revenge of the Saguaro: Offbeat Travels Through America’s Southwest
Revenge of the Saguaro: Offbeat Travels Through America’s Southwest by Tom Miller Reviewed by Mark D. Walker As someone who has travelled the world and spent much of my adult life in the Southwest, I appreciated the author’s perspective and insights on this unique and often crazy part of the country. I learned about parts of the region I’d never heard of, as well as appreciated parts of the area I was aware of, but not in the way the author tells it, such as the filming of “The Milagro Bean War” and the mining wars of Bisbee. The title […]
Continue readingBook Review – Non-fiction: Restoring the Soil: How to use green manure/cover crops to fertilize the soil and overcome droughts
Book Review of “Restoring the Soil: How to use green manure/cover crops to fertilize the soil and overcome droughts” By Roland Bunch Reviewed by Mark D. Walker As the UN meets to discuss climate change and young people demonstrate around the globe for leaders to take action, this provides the perfect backdrop for the second edition of this book. Small landed farmers around the world face some of the harshest growing conditions globally, yet they produce the majority of the world’s food. Soils in these areas often lack nutrients and water holding capacities, due to erosion or poor soil structure. […]
Continue readingBook Review – Fiction: The Quiet American
The Quiet American by Graham Greene Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I’ve been meaning to read this book for years as it’s considered one of the best novels about the war in Indo China and even though it was written in 1955 it anticipated many of the flaws in American character and history which would result in what many now consider a catastrophic military debacle. Greene, regarded by many as one of the great writers of the 20th century is also one of my favorite global storytellers with “Journey Without Maps” leading my list. I’d worked in Sierra Leone where […]
Continue readingNewsletter: May 2019
As the pressure and chaos at our southern border continues to grow, I’m taking a look at a few of the reasons why so many are streaming down from Central America. Watch for my soon to be published article in WorldView Magazine, where I’ll join with two other Returned Peace Corps authors to explore this issue in more depth. This month’s special review is The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop? by the Guatemalan, American-award winning author, Francisco Goldman. Click on the Million Mile Walker poster to get your copy of the review of this fascinating tale on […]
Continue readingBook Review – Latin America: Pedro Páramo
Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I first learned of what is considered “one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century world literature” while reading Paul Theroux’s, “On the Plain of Snakes.” In his critique of Mexican literature, he mentions “Pedro Páramo” because, unlike many Mexico’s best-known authors, Rulfo wrote about rural Mexico. He mentions that the book was published in 1955 and was one of procurers of “magical realism”, which influenced many of Latin America’s best authors. When I told my Guatemalan wife about the book, she told me she “hated it.” Evidently, the Belgium nuns who […]
Continue readingBook Review – About Writing: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I’ve never read one of Stephen King’s books, nor do I remember seeing any of the movies based on his books, but what author can ignore a book on how to write by the critically acclaimed, million-copy bestselling writer? One piece of advice stands out, which he repeats several times and it’s worth repeating: He goes on to say, “Yet there is a learning process going on. Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have […]
Continue readingBook Review – Travel: On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey
On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey By Paul Theroux Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I’ve travelled much of the world over the last forty years thanks to Paul Theroux’s many books which now number 56. I was especially eager to read this book since I’ve made the journey through Mexico several times with my wife in a car (VW bug) and a pick-up truck, so I was familiar with some of the challenges, dangers not to mention adventures the author would encounter. The “Godfather of Travel Writing” follows his own critique for what makes a superior travel book, […]
Continue readingBook Review – Travel: My Two Wars
My Two Wars by Moritz Thomsen Reviewed by Mark D. Walker This would be the last time we’d hear from “one of the best American writers of the century,” according to the Washington Post review of this book. Martha Gellhorn, Hemingway’s third wife and one of the best war correspondents adds, “wonderful sentences sound like a speaking voice, and the voice belongs to a man alone, a man both deeply grave and very funny, ironic and compassionate, totally honest, and without vanity.” As this book was completed shortly before his death and wouldn’t be published for four years after he’d […]
Continue readingBook Review – Fiction: Secrets of the Moon: A Novel
Secrets of the Moon: A Novel by Tema Encarnacion (Dominican Republic 2000–01) Reviewed by Mark D. Walker (Guatemala 1971–73) Author Tema Encarnacion couldn’t have chosen a timelier theme for her debut novel, than the circumstances that force families to flee violence from Central America and embark on a perilous journey across the border into the U.S., as the immigration crisis continues unresolved. Alternating narratives from the daughter, Luz, and her mother, Esperanza, help the reader appreciate how the experience will traumatize everyone in the family from Luz’s grandmother, who has been bringing Luz up in El Salvador alone for six years, […]
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