Town of Angels by Jody Sharpe Reviewed by Mark D. Walker This inspirational book proves the power of the human spirit to move on despite incredible tragedy and personal loss. The author’s daughter, Kate, was killed in a tragic accident and then her husband died, and during a difficult period where many would have succumbed to despair, she had a dream in which a voice told her to read “Charlotte’s Web,” by E.V. White, which is a children’s book. Initially she didn’t know why she should read it until the last line of the book revealed that, “Nobody would take […]
Continue readingBook Review – Travel: Topographies
Topographies by Stephen Benz Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I was drawn to this book because the author had written about my favorite part of the world, Guatemala, as well as several parts of the Wild West. The reader is taken through a diversity of locations starting with the Everglades and the sad story of the mass killing of egrets. Forty to sixty hunters would descend and let loose a “barrage,” killing hundreds of birds. The author goes beyond the location and even its beauty with a dramatic focus on history. In Nebraska, we are introduced to the plight of […]
Continue readingBook Review – Latin America: The White Rose
The White Rose” by B. Traven Reviewed by Mark D. Walker B. Traven is a masterful storyteller who injects his worldview and philosophy, which focuses on the plight of the poor, especially the indigenous, rural population in Latin America, Asia and Africa into his novels. He’s written twelve novels, one non-fiction publication and several short stories, in which the sensational and adventurous subjects combine with a critical attitude towards capitalism. Although I’d heard of his best-known work, “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”, I had no idea who the author was, and after some investigation learned of a good deal […]
Continue readingBook Review – Latin America: The Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I recently came across an interview of Paul Theroux in “New York Times’” “By the Book” in which he reveals that ”The Mosquito Coast” was his favorite most personally meaningful book. He goes on to say, “…Over a period of two years, knowing it was a great idea and plot, I wrote confidently in rainy cold sedate London , and it is of course a book set in sunny warm anarchic Honduras,” at which point I realized that although I’d seen the movie, I’d never read the book! I’d […]
Continue readingBook Review – Non-fiction: The Line Becomes a River
The Line Becomes a River By Francisco Cantu Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I met the author at the “NONFICTIONNOW” conference late last year where over 400 non-fiction writers, teachers, and readers from around the world gathered to explore the past, present and future of nonfiction. Cantu was the keynote speaker and was interviewed at the iconic Orpheum Theater in downtown Phoenix. Listening to Cantú, it became obvious that the border was in the blood: his mother, a park ranger and daughter of a Mexican immigrant, raised him in the scrublands of the Southwest. Driven to understand the hard realities […]
Continue readingBook Review – Latin America: The Guatemala Reader: History, Culture, Politics
The Guatemala Reader: History, Culture, Politics Edited by Greg Grandin, Deborah Levenson & Elizabeth Oglesby Reviewed by Mark D. Walker The Guatemala Reader is an impressive compilation of 200 texts in a broad, comprehensive introduction to Guatemala’s history, culture, and politics. I wish I had this when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the early 70s, or when studying for my Masters at the Institute of Latin America at the University of Texas later in the decade, not to mention over eight years working with different organizations, as these materials provide a wealth of insights into the beauty and […]
Continue readingBook Review – Non-fiction: The Givers: Wealth, Power and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age
The Givers: Wealth, Power and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age by David Callahan Reviewed by Mark D. Walker This book provides an inside look at the secret world of elite philanthropists whose wealth has increased over the years and how they’re wielding increased power to influence American life in ways both positive and negative. My friend, Peter Nagle, the President of Carlton & Company where I’ve been a V.P. and Senior Counsel for many years, sent me the book because it “has a lot to tell us about major gifts, what is going on in the present day and […]
Continue readingBook Review – Non-fiction: The Gene: An Intimate History
The Gene: An Intimate History”by Siddhartha Mukherjee Reviewed by Mark D. Walker Interest in the power of the gene has heightened by the popularity of the numerous ancestry testing sites, like 23 & Me, which is the one I used to find out that I was 99% “Northwestern” European, which included Britain and Ireland (this would also include Scotland, which wasn’t a surprise) but the “Irish” ancestry was. The book provides a comprehensive history of the most intimate science of our time—the fundamentals of heredity. What better person to tell this story than the author of The Laws of Medicine […]
Continue readingBook Review – About Writing: The Business of Being a Writer
The Business of Being a Writer By Jane Friedman Reviewed by Mark D. Walker “Every writer needs tough love. Typically, that’s delivered by your editor as you’re writing the book. But where’s the tough love once your book is ready for the world? It’s in here and its Jane.” I learned about this book along with another, Daily Rituals, by Mason Curren from the speakers at a Phoenix Writers Network meeting several months ago. Curren’s book provides inspirational stories from writers, composers, artists and filmmakers on how the artists produce their creations, But then the question becomes, how do we […]
Continue readingBook Review – Non-fiction: The Age of Inequality: Corporate America’s War on Working People
The Age of Inequality: Corporate America’s War on Working People Edited by Jeremy Gantz Reviewed by Mark D. Walker A culmination of forty years of reporting by investigative reporters and progressive thinkers focuses on one of the key issues of our time, a steady movement towards an oligarchy in which ever more resources are being concentrated in an every smaller segment of our population. The richest 1 percent of Americans now own more wealth than the bottom 90%, while the country’s median household income is less today than it was in 1989. The great struggles of U.S. history, from the […]
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