Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, I want to share some of the stories from my recent trip through the Chaco Cultural National Park in New Mexico. The Culture Watch will introduce a must-read book after the Supreme Court decision to reject affirmative action and a remembrance of the passing of whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg. I’ll share some good and bad news in my Writing and Reviews. Voices in Action will include a memorable quote from one of the iconic travel writers. The Calendar will highlight the celebration of World Refugee Day and a PEN America event here […]
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How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With The History of Slavery Across America, by Clint Smith, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
With today’s Supreme Court ruling rejecting affirmative action at U.S. colleges, this book becomes a must-read as the author examines the legacy of slavery in America and how history and memory continue to shape our everyday lives. Not surprisingly, this New York Times bestseller is one of the top banned books today. The author begins the book with a quote from Frederick Douglass’s “The Nation’s Problem”: Our past was slavery. We cannot recur to it with any sense of complacency or composure. The history of it is a record of stripes, a revelation of agony. It is written in characters […]
Continue readingThe Puebloan Society of Chaco Canyon, by Paul F. Reed, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
A librarian friend found this book for me in preparation for our first visit to the Chaco Canyon. As we drove down the rocky, dusty road of the south entrance, we could only be impressed by the tremendous vistas and the apparent inhospitable nature. This book places the Puebloan society in a historical perspective as part of a Medieval Historical series, the “Greenwood Guides to Historic Events of the Medieval World,” defined as a period from 500 to 1500 A.D. Chaco would peak in the mislabeled “Dark Ages,” beginning with the fall of the Roman Empire and continuing until the […]
Continue readingImages of America: Evergreen by John Steinle, Review and Reflections by Mark D. Walker
I consider Evergreen, Colorado, my “hometown,” although I’ve lived in many other places. I noticed that the author of this book, John Steinle, was the administrator of the Hiwan Homestead Museum, where my mother, Marion, was the head of the Busy Bee Quilters. The author was qualified to write the book, as he worked in Evergreen as a history education supervisor for Jefferson County Open Space for over 20 years. And I wasn’t disappointed, as the photographs in the book were taken from the comprehensive Jefferson County Historical Society Collection. The author points out that early settlers were drawn to […]
Continue readingThe Will To See: Dispatches From A World Of Misery And Hope by Bernard-Henri Lévy, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
I’ve seen Bernard-Henri Lévy on PBS, Amanpour, and Democracy Now over the last few months, and my middle daughter, who studied in France, gifted me this book. I soon learned that the author is a renowned public intellectual/philosopher who has reported on human rights abuses worldwide for over 50 years. This book follows the intrepid Lévy into eight international hotspots—Nigeria; Syrian and Iraqi Kurdistan; Ukraine; Somalia; Bangladesh; Lesbos, Greece; Libya; and Afghanistan—that have escaped global attention or active response. He describes an “inner compass” as motivating him to travel and report on disastrous situations like this, “for indeed, it is […]
Continue readingPoverty By America, by Matthew Desmond, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
My interest in the impact of poverty was heightened when I joined the Peace Corps and began working in countries worldwide to alleviate suffering. And after thirty years, when I spent more time in the U.S., like the author, I was haunted by how the wealthiest nation in the world had so many people living in poverty. One in every nine people in America is officially poor, and one in eight children—why do we tolerate so much suffering amid so much wealth? According to Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond, there are many reasons, but the big one is that the rest […]
Continue readingThe Million Mile Walker Dispatch, 50 Years on the Road: A Journey from Peace Corps Volunteer to Author, April 2023
Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, Today’s Culture Watch will focus on growing homelessness, as well as yet another tragic death of 17 Guatemalans in Mexican immigration centers on our border. My Writing and Reviews will include my latest book review in the “Wanderlust Journal,” and several articles about me in “The Westerner Magazine,” plus an introduction of several must-see movies. What Others Are Saying, and Let’s Keep Laughing will include a quip from one of our great writers, plus an updated Calendar that highlights several international events hosted by PEN America. But first, the alumni Magazine […]
Continue readingFacing the Congo: the Modern Day Journey Into the Heart of Darkness by Jeffrey Tayler, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
I’m always attracted to any adventure delving into the “heart of darkness” in Africa. And in this case, a book inspired by Conrad’s epic trip in 1890 down the Congo River on a steamer after being appointed by a Belgian trading company. This story came to mind while floating down the Rio Dulce in Guatemala, where the dense tropical forest came up to the river’s edges, and one could hear different languages on shore (mostly Q’eqchí). But Tayler’s travel adventure is on an entirely different level as he follows the Congo River on a barge for 1,100 of the river’s […]
Continue readingFacing the Congo: A Modern-Day Journey Into The Heart Of Darkness, by Jeffrey Tayler, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
I’m always attracted to any adventure delving into the “heart of darkness” in Africa. And in this case, a book inspired by Conrad’s epic trip in 1890 down the Congo River on a steamer after being appointed by a Belgian trading company. This story came to mind while floating down the Rio Dulce in Guatemala, where the dense tropical forest came up to the river’s edges, and one could hear different languages on shore (mostly Q’eqchí). But Tayler’s travel adventure is on an entirely different level as he follows the Congo River on a barge for 1,100 of the […]
Continue readingThe United States Of War by David Vine, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
The twentieth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq seemed a fitting time to review this impressive examination of how the U.S. military has impacted the entire world and the prominence of violence at home. 32,000 Americans were injured, and over 100,000 Iraqi civilians died at the cost of $806 billion. To grasp the scope of U.S. wars and other combat actions abroad, one should reference the list provided in the appendix—eight pages long with some 30 battles or actions listed on each page! One of its many maps is filled with symbols of U.S. Wars and other U.S. combat […]
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