Although Madeen is a fellow Returned Peace Corps writer, I never heard of him until he reviewed my latest book, The Guatemala Reader, and commented on my video about the book’s making. Initially, I thanked him and asked him how he liked living in Texas (his university is listed as TCU—Texas Christian University)—but much to my surprise, he’s an adjunct professor of modern literature at Tokyo City University in Japan. I was impressed with a note from one of the great travel writers and a fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Paul Theroux sent him. He said he was mystified by […]
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The Guatemala Reader is a Best Seller! The Million Mile Walker Dispatch, June 2024
Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, We exceeded the Kickstarter goal by 239%, and the funds allowed us to roll out The Guatemala Reader as the #1 New Release for Guatemalan History and the #1 Best Seller for Central American Travel! In Culture Watch, I’ll highlight the most recent work of three of the “Extraordinary Lives” in my new book. What We’re Reading and Why will introduce the latest book by Maya Anthropologist Victor Montejo, and end with a compelling Voices in Action and a summary of our upcoming trip to Guatemala with two granddaughters in the Calendar. As a bonus, click on […]
Continue readingEveryone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis by Jonathan Blitzer, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
A most timely book rated #1 for the history of U.S. immigration, public policy immigration, and the history of Central America. About a third of my forthcoming book focuses on immigration from Guatemala, making this a must-read. The immigration problem is growing exponentially around the world, and solutions are ignored for political benefit and expediency. President Biden’s executive order is designed to close the border, at least through elections. The only serious legislative reform created by both parties was abandoned by the Republicans, who blocked both legislation and funding, which could have diminished the crisis, once again, for political […]
Continue readingKidnapped to the Underworld by Victor Montejo Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
It seems appropriate that this book was published on the 500th anniversary of Spaniard Alvarado’s conquering of the Maya in 1524—making this a time to reflect on the impact it had on the Maya, one of the great civilizations of the Hemisphere. Victor Montejo is a respected Mayan intellectual and activist. He believes that racism in Guatemala is best understood as a system originating in the inequality established by the Spanish conquest. The Spaniards viewed the indigenous peoples as barbarians who needed to be controlled and civilized. Despite the Spaniards’ relentless efforts to alter and eradicate numerous Maya traditions and […]
Continue readingBurma Sahib by Paul Theroux, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
The Dean of travel writing reimagines one of English literature’s most controversial writers in his early, formative years. Theroux leads us on the journey with George Orwell from a British Raj officer in Colonial Burma and his transformation from Eric Blair to Orwell, the anti-colonial writer. Blair set sail for India shortly after graduating from the same prestigious private school of Eton, whose alums included Boris Johnson and nineteen other British prime ministers. Despite his young age (19), he would oversee local police officers in Burma and deal with his fellow British’s racial and class politics while trying to learn […]
Continue readingTheir Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
Eighty-seven years after its publication, this book almost disappeared from the American public until it was finally appreciated and republished, becoming one of the enduring books of the twentieth century. The author’s fame reached its zenith in 1943 with a Saturday Review cover story. And yet seven years later, she would be serving as a maid in Rivo Alto, Florida, and ten years later, die in the St. Lucie County Welfare Home of “hypertensive heart disease.” She’d been buried in an unmarked grave in the segregated cemetery, Garden of Heavenly Rest, in Fort Pierce, Florida. Some consider this book a […]
Continue readingCentral America’s Forgotten History: Revolution, Violence, and the Roots of Migration, by Aviva Chomsky, reviewed by Mark D. Walker
This book seemed a perfect follow-up to the Guatemalan Journey, one writer’s take on Guatemala. In contrast, this book provides a historical overview of some underlying causes of growing immigration to the U.S. Plus, one of my favorite authors, Todd Miller, who wrote Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security, offered good reasons to read it, I have waited for Central America’s Forgotten History for the past decade. This thorough and thought-provoking book revives the history that has long been severed from the Central American experience in US discourse, especially around immigration. Chomsky demonstrates that you can’t divorce […]
Continue readingOne Writer’s Review of 2023, Million Mile Walker Dispatch, December 2023
Dear Colleagues and Fellow Writers from Around the World, Happy New Year, one and all! I like to sit down at the end of a year and focus on the highlights I want to build on for the coming year. I’ll also look at one of our country’s most crucial issues in Cultural Impact. My Writing and Reviews will include a few of my favorite books and a movie, a special section on Those We Lost, followed by Voices in Action, What Others Are Saying, and a Calendar update. 2023 represents my sixth year as a full-time writer, and this […]
Continue readingGuatemala, My Personal Lodestar, Million Mile Walker Dispatch, November 2023
Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, On a personal note, I have several announcements about my involvement with the Arizona Authors Association. Culture Watch will focus on attempts by the Guatemalan attorney general to prevent the President-elect from taking office. My Writing and Reviews will highlight my forthcoming book and plans for a Kickstarter campaign and a review of a classic satire about Guatemala and a TV series from Indonesia. Voices in Action will include an insightful quote. What Others Are Saying will provide the latest praises for my forthcoming book, and the Calendar will be updated. My […]
Continue readingThe River of Lost Voices: Stories from Guatemala by Mark Brazaitis, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
Many of his stories capture the essence of living in and around Santa Curz Verapaz close to Coban, where I’ve worked and traveled many times and is not far from where I was with the Peace Corps. Alta Verapaz is exciting due to its cloud forests, Maya inhabitants, and the historic presence of Germans who dominated the coffee plantations at the turn of the century. And since I’m working on my forthcoming book, The Guatemala Reader, this seemed an excellent time to pull it off my bookshelf. Guatemala is a country of extremes — a place of terrible cruelty, apparent […]
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