Bad News from a Black Coast By Moritz Thomsen Reviewed by Mark D. Walker Like many Thomsen enthusiasts, I’ve wondered where his last, elusive manuscript was, and how it might come to be published, bringing the total number of his travelogue classics to five. So when it suddenly appeared on Amazon, published, I jumped with joy. At last, 28 years after his death! And I was not disappointed; it was worth the wait. Thomsen began talking about this book in 1980 and sent some of the manuscript to fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and author, Christopher West Davis, who told […]
Continue readingMonthly Archives: June 2020
Book Review – Travel: Arizona and New Mexico 25 Scenic Side Trips
Arizona and New Mexico 25 Scenic Side Trips By Rick Quinn Reviewed by Mark D. Walker After several months of “hunkering down” at home in order to avoid the coronavirus, I’m itching to start traveling again! I picked this book up at a Heard Museum event a number of months ago, as I was attracted by the amazing maps and photos of the desert Southwest—and I needed inspiration for day trips out of Phoenix in order to keep my sanity. I also wanted to begin planning for future trips starting later this summer. I met the author, Rick Quinn, at […]
Continue readingNewsletter: January 2019
I’d like to start the New Year with some thoughts on the continued flow of immigrants to our southern border. I introduced Guatemalan filmmaker and immigrant storyteller, Luis, to you in my last message, “Luis Argueta: Telling the Stories of Guatemalan Immigrants, published in Revue Magazine. For more than ten years, Luis’s films have depicted the challenges facing immigrants, especially from Guatemala. I was pleased to orchestrate an effort to send letters of support for Luis’s nomination for the Harris Wofford Award for Global Citizenship as someone who was influenced by, and embodied, many values of the Peace Corps. Harris […]
Continue readingNewsletter: November 2018
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and God knows many of us in the U.S. have a lot to be thankful for. We always gather our entire clan together to give thanks and to remember the growing number of people who don’t have the basics here in the U.S. and abroad. My personal favorite group to help the homeless here in Phoenix is the Andre House, so I participated in the “Give a Book Get a Smile” program by taking my latest article, which is part of the “Crossing Class: Invisible Wall” anthology down there, as well as 200 other books […]
Continue readingBook Review – Latin America: The Art Of Political Murder: Who Killed The Bishop?
The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop? By Francisco Goldman Reviewed by Mark D. Walker “The Long Night of White Chickens” was my introduction to the author and I’ve been a fan ever since. His mother is a Catholic Guatemalan, his father Jewish American, and he was born in Boston, so he started off with a very interesting combination of influences. The book is a tense, almost surrealistic detective story which opens windows on the Latin American reality of State Sponsored assassinations, mara youth gangs and organized crime. The author’s insights come out of his coverage of the […]
Continue readingBook Review – Latin America: American Dirt
American Dirt By Jeanine Cummins Reviewed by Mark D. Walker As someone who has traveled through and around Mexico multiple times, I was attracted to this number one blockbuster for Hispanic Literature. Recently, I reviewed Paul Theroux’s, “On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey,” and that, plus the brutal murder of the defenseless Mormon family by the cartel in the northern state of Sonora made this a must read for me. The story begins in Acapulco, which was one of Mexico’s key resort centers, although over the years it has become increasingly violent. Lydia owns a bookstore there and […]
Continue readingBook Review – Latin America: The Adventures of Mr. Puttison Among the Maya
The Adventures of Mr. Puttison Among the Maya By Victor D. Montejo Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I read this book years ago in Spanish and decided to obtain the English version to review in order to introduce it to a broader audience. I have interacted with the author during my research for the production of a documentary on immigration, “Guatemala: Trouble in the Highlands.” He is a distinguished Anthropologist, author, poet and a native speaker of the Maya Popb’alti language. The principal character, an American traveler turns up in a remote Maya village in the Department of Huehuetenango in […]
Continue readingNewsletter: October 2018
The growing income inequality and decreasing social mobility in the U.S. and abroad is a growing concern and, as a fundraiser, I’ve been in touch with some of the wealthiest people in the world and some of the most isolated and at-risk groups. The two books I reviewed reflect this reality, starting with a New York Times best seller on charity and philanthropy, and the “Crossing Class” anthology. But first, I’d like to share my recent visit with award-winning, Guatemalan film Director, Luis Argueta, who hosted screenings of his three films in Tucson and Phoenix. He also visited some of […]
Continue readingNewsletter: September 2018
The memory of Senator John McCain strikes an important cord this week due to the politics as usual going on in Washington as of late. “I was an imperfect servant, but I was always a servant,” he said. He was willing to cross party lines for what he considered the better interests of his country. In the late 1990s when I was with Food for the Hungry, I arrived in the wee hours of the morning at Sky Harbor airport, and there was McCain, reading his newspaper alone, no staff, no body- guards, no Lear Jets. In 2012, I visited […]
Continue readingNewsletter: August 2018
International travel has been a passion of mine as a time of self-discovery and transformation, and many of my stories are part of my book “Different Latitudes,” which is why it’s now ranked number 66 for “Travel, Central America, Guatemala” on Amazon. The power of travel was also what I discussed with some of the readers at the Barnes and Noble “Authors Event” at Desert Ridge in Scottsdale on July 28th. Barnes and Noble carries my book now so I’ll turn up at other outlets down the line. Special articles and reviews: This is why I’ve written a special review […]
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