I first became aware of the author at a “Peace Corps Connect” conference in Austin, Texas in 2019 where she was on a panel on “Crossing Borders” with several experts on immigration including the Guatemalan filmmaker, Luis Argueta. Recently, I heard her program on immigration in Guatemala, which aired on the public radio program “Reveal.” I contacted her once I learned that she was the head of the “Gracias Vida Media Center” in Antigua, Guatemala, which was when I learned about her new book, which was published by Conocimientos Press. This book is an inspiring account of the author’s work […]
Continue reading“The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, by Heather McGhee, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
I initially came across this book after listening to several interviews with the author and realized that her focus on how racism affects all Americans was consistent with what we’ve learned about the consequences of the COVID pandemic, where the majority of developing countries are unable to access the vaccine, despite none of us being safe until everyone is vaccinated. And the consequences of ignoring the plight of so many Central Americans forced to flee their homes to head north in search of safety and a decent quality of life. The author embarks on a deeply personal journey across the […]
Continue readingMillion Mile Walker Dispatch, Spring Edition, Reckoning with Mass Incarceration, April, 2021
Reckoning with Mass Incarceration Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, Spring has sprung and the desert is blooming in the Valley of the Sun! And with it – allergies, but it is a fair trade off. Now that the Minneapolis police officer has been charged with killing George Floyd in a historic case, it’s an appropriate time to analyze the impact our justice system has on the rest of society as part of Culture Watch. My Writing & Book Reviews will include several books and a movie. We’ll look to Voices of the Day, for inspiration as well as What Others Are Saying. Culture […]
Continue readingHalfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the After life of Mass Incarceration by Reuben Jonathan Miller, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
One of the stories often hidden from public view with tremendous consequences is the astonishing size of our country’s incarcerated population at 2.3 million while another 20 million live with a felony record. That does not include the 555,000 locked up in the U.S. who have not been convicted of a crime. I heard an interview of the author and decided this book would be a good place to dig into this grave reality. Reuben Miller knows the issues from first-hand experience. He was a chaplain at the Cook County Jail in Chicago and is now a sociologist studying […]
Continue readingAt Home and Abroad by V.S. Pritchett, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
While perusing my books recently, I recognized this book by V.S. Pritchett, who is a British writer and literary critic and a well-known travel writer. I’d recently written several of my own stories on Latin America, “The Ying & Yang of Travel: Traveling Solo,” and “Tschiffley’s Epic Equestrian Ride,” so I decided to get this author’s take. After all, according to the “WorldCat List,” which is the largest data- base on books for libraries around the world, Pritchett had logged 422 works in 1,896 publications in 5 languages in almost 43,000 library holdings. And he was knighted of Sir Victor […]
Continue readingMillion Mile Walker Dispatch, March, Drama on the Border: No Easy Solutions
Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, As the number of asylum-seeking migrants, including unaccompanied minors, crossing the southwest border of the U.S. soared to 3,500 a day in February, and the number of unaccompanied minors from Central America rose 60%, many of us are asking, “What’s going on in Central America anyway?” I’ll explore this and more in Culture Watch. My Writing & Book Reviews will include several book and movie reviews. We’ll look to inspiration in Voices of the Day and, as always, What Others Are Saying. My latest article, “Tschiffely’s Epic Ride: Part of the Yin & Yang of Travel Series,” was in […]
Continue readingUnder the Wave at Waimea by Paul Theroux, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
I’ve read and reviewed the last six books from the iconic travel writer Paul Theroux and was fortunate enough to snag a copy of the uncorrected proof of his next book which will be available in mid-April. Initially I was unenthusiastic about reading of the life of an aging surfer in Hawaii, but after reading “On the Plain of Snakes” about Mexico, I felt sure he’d manage to turn Hawaii into one of his ebullient tomes—and I was not disappointed. After all, the author has lived there for over 30 years during which time he’s been gathering stories and materials […]
Continue readingMillion Mile Walker Dispatch, The Impact of Climate Change, February, 2021
Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, 2020 and the beginning of this year were prone to ecological breakdown. Simultaneous climate disasters have roared, including the worst wildfire season in the history of California, record heat here in Arizona, record hurricanes coupled with drought in Guatemala and, most recently, the deep freeze and resulting infrastructural and leadership breakdowns in Texas, all of which will be the focus of Culture Watch, My Writing & Book Reviews, and will include several book reviews and a movie review. We’ll look to inspiration in Voices of the Day and, as always, What Others Are […]
Continue reading“Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age”, by Sanjay Gupta MD, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age by Sanjay Gupta, MD Reviewed by Mark D. Walker My youngest daughter handed me this book and said, “Dad, we don’t have time to read this, but this is important. Could you read it and report back to us?” So I did. And I believe that all adults should take responsibility for our health, especially our mental health, so this looked like a timely book to review and reflect on with my family. The author caught my attention with a study that indicated that 47 million Americans have some evidence […]
Continue readingHow I Learned English by Tom Miller, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
I purchased this book as a Christmas present for my Guatemalan wife because, she like millions of other Latinos, has struggled to master the quirks and challenges of English. Ligia took English in school in Guatemala. But I’ve always insisted we speak Spanish in order to maintain my fluency and she patiently corrected my grammar, which she continues to do. After our first year of marriage, I took her to my hometown of Evergreen, Colorado in the dead (cold) of winter, where she tried to communicate with my mother by writing notes. But my mother insisted that we get a […]
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