The Center of the World by Jacqueline Sheehan Reviewed by Mark D. Walker Having just completed my own memoir, much of which takes place in Guatemala and having all three of our children born there, Jacqueline Sheehan’s novel was a must read. I also wrote about the devastating impact of the violence in the 1990s and its root causes of this sad period in Guatemalan history, which this author introduces in beautiful prose. The story explores the mother-daughter bond which crosses cultures against the backdrop of one of the most violent times of Guatemala’s history, Young Guatemalan adoptee Sofia is […]
Continue readingBook Review – Latin America: Bolivia 30: Life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the 1960s
Bolivia 30: Life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the 1960s Frank T. Darmiento (Bolivia ), author and editor CreateSpace April 2015 172 pages $24.99 (paperback), $9.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Mark D. Walker (Guatemala 1971–73) Frank Darmiento, the author of Bolivia 30 provides a unique perspective of life in the Peace Corps in Bolivia by sharing in great detail his own story of the training process in the U.S. as well as when serving in Bolivia with his young wife. His book also includes dozen stories of others who were in his training group, which added to the texture and broadened […]
Continue readingBook Review – Non-fiction: Blue Desert
Book Review of “Blue Desert” by Charles Bowden Reviewed by Mark D. Walker Following in the steps of Edward Abbey, the author touts the majesty of the desert, as well as the darker side of development. At the very beginning of the book, he expresses his love and concern for the desert, “….My home is a web of dreams. Thousands move here each year under the banners of the New West or the Sunbelt. This is the place where they hope to escape their pasts, the unemployment, the smoggy skies, dirty cities, crush of human numbers. This they cannot do. […]
Continue readingBook Review – Latin America: Blue Country
Blue Country By Mark Wentling Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I’ve been looking forward to the author’s next book after thoroughly enjoying “Africa’s Embrace,” which is part of his African Trilogy. I reviewed his book “Dead Cow Road,” which took place in Somalia, so I’m familiar with the author’s ability to spin an interesting yarn about far off places. Although the author was a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, he was also a volunteer in Honduras for five years, so I’ve been waiting for a story that took place in Central America. The author’s work and travels span more than […]
Continue readingBook Review – Latin America: Between Inca Walls: A Peace Corps Memoir
Between Inca Walls: A Peace Corps Memoir By Evelyn Kohl La Torre Reviewed by Mark D. Walker After writing my own memoir, “Different Latitudes, My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond”, I began paying more attention to this genre and have reviewed several books of fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. This book interested me as well because I’ve traveled through Peru several times over the years and my Son-In-Law is Peruvian. The book is well written as the president of the National Association of Memoir Writers, Linda Joy Myers describes, “Evelyn LaTorre creates a masterful portrait of place―from the […]
Continue readingBook Review – Fiction: Benito Cereno
Benito Cereno By Herman Melville Reviewed by Mark D. Walker I decided to pick up this classic novel by Herman Melville to explore issues of slavery, race and human depravity as part of my research for an article about an American author in Ecuador and is Black fisherman partner – and I was not disappointed. Set in 1799, the crew of an American trading vessel, the “Bachelor’s Delight,” notices a Spanish slave ship has fallen into distress. The circumstances seem strange since the Spanish ship displays no flags to identify it. The American Captain, Amasa Deleno, notes some oddities, especially […]
Continue readingBook Review – Travel: Bad News from a Black Coast
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 readingBook 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 […]
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