Reflections on the Passing of a Fellow Travel Writer & the 200th Anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine, The Million Mile Walker Dispatch, May 2023 Issue

  Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, Today I’ll start with a special homage to a fellow freelance and travel writer recently passed on.  Culture Watch will focus on the 200th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine and its impact on our relations with our neighbors to the south and our own Native American neighbors.  My Writing and Reviews include reflections on the demise of my favorite literary journal and my latest book review about my hometown of Evergreen, Colorado, and The Will To See, by a French philosopher.  I’ll also share the classic scene with Ernest Hemmingway in […]

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Arizona: Its Land and Its People by Tom Miller, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker

The editor of this book is considered by many as one of the best nonfiction/travel writers in the country. Several of his books focus on the border, the Southwest, Cuba, and Latin America. He recently published his memoir, Where Was I? A Travel Writer’s Memoir about his illustrious career as a journalist, writer, and adventurer. He shared the impact of Parkinson’s on his writing, which tragically cut his life short. The editor and I share an appreciation of iconic writer Moritz Thomsen, whom Tom met in Ecuador while researching for The Panama Hat Trail, one of my all-time favorite tales, […]

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Million Mile Walker Dispatch, Daily Rituals That Enhance a Writer’s Productivity and Creativity, March Issue, 2023

  Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, Let’s explore what makes artists most productive based on their daily rituals, and I’ll reveal some of my secrets in Culture Watch. My Writing and Reviews will include an overview of my forthcoming book and my movie review of a coming-of-age story of a nine-year-old who aspires to become a writer.  I’ll also introduce a new podcast based on a revealing interview with the most successful author published today, J.K. Rowling.  We’ll learn What Others Are Saying, and Voices in Action will include more pearls of wisdom from fellow writers, plus […]

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January February 2023 Special Edition of the Million Mile Walker Dispatch!

                      Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World,   I’ll start the year off with news of my latest interview on Global Connections TV, the growing movement to make the U.S. a Theocracy in Culture Watch, a book review of a Dystopian world which reflects the direction we’re taking, My Writing and Reviews, What Others Are Saying, an insightful Voices in Action plus an updated Calendar.   Fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and Host of Global Connections TV, Bill Miller, interviewed me for a second time. He focused on […]

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The Best of the Million Mile Walker Dispatch, December 2022

  Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, In this year in review issue, I’ll highlight my new book and share the most compelling stories from the Culture Watch. My Saddest Pleasures: 50 Years on the Road was published by Cyberwit.net. and was announced in the May issue of the Dispatch. It was inspired by a quote from Paul Theroux from his Picture Palace, which put my fifty years of travel into perspective and allowed me to appreciate the miscues, disasters, and disappointments. https://millionmilewalker.com/2022/06/million-mile-walker-dispatch-launching-my-new-book-my-saddest-pleasures-may-2022/ The response from fellow travel writers was immediate: “Walker delights in this chapbook with amusing […]

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Knulp: Three Tales from the Life of Knulp, by Hermann Hesse, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker

I became enamored with Hesse’s work in Crested Butte, Colorado, where I managed a dozen houses that paid for my schooling at Western State Colorado University. Those were the days of “Counterculture.” The bookshelves of most of my student renters inevitably included Hesse classics like Siddartha, Demian,  The Glass Bead Game, and the iconic Whole Earth Catalog—displayed in smoke-filled living rooms. By the early1970s, Hesse had become a cult figure, and in 1968, the California rock group, Steppenwolf, named after one of Hesse’s other classic books, released “Born to be Wild,” which was featured in the film Easy Rider. The […]

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Million Mile Walker Dispatch, Talking About Racism in the U.S. November, 2022

Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, Ever since the killing of Floyd and the global response known as Black Lives Matter, I’ve been thinking about how much of this reality I’ve ignored over the years, although it was right in front of me.  So, in Culture Watch. I’ll share my personal experience and highlight three books, which will help us better understand and deal with racism in its many forms. I’ll, announce an upcoming TV interview and a new role as contributing writer for The Authors Show in My Writing, Interviews, and Reviews. I found several timely quotes for […]

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South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, by Imani Perry, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker

This book is one of several I’ve been reading to understand race relations in the U.S. better and make sense of the “Black Lives Matter” movement. I was brought up in Plainfield, New Jersey, where I only saw a few Black American kids in the upper tier of classes that I was in during elementary school.  Then we moved out West, and I remember turning on my television to the riots in Newark, New Jersey, which were part of the 150 riots around the country during the “Long hot summer of 1967.” Newscasts showed shattered storefronts, fires caused by arson, […]

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Million Mile Walker Dispatch, Special Book & Movie Reviews!, September, 2022

Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, I’ll report lessons learned after celebrating Banned Book Week in Culture Watch. I have special book and movie recommendations in My Writing, Interviews, and Reviews. I will share some compelling Voices of the Day, some surprising What Others Are Saying, and an updated Calendar. You can click on the poster above for my Arizona Authors Association newsletter section, which highlights several of my latest articles and book reviews.  Cultural Watch    My daughter Nicky & her librarian hubby, Ed, joined me for the “Band Against the Ban in Arizona” gathering kicked off by our PEN America […]

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Million Mile Walker Dispatch, Rave Reviews for My New Book–Not So Much With Our Guatemala Documentary! June,2022 Issue

  My Saddest Pleasures Gets Rave Reviews—not so much for our Guatemalan Documentary! Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, My Saddest Pleasures received impressive reviews, although we didn’t have the same luck with our Guatemalan documentary, “Trouble in the Highlands.” I’ll tell some stories about excellent literature, documentaries, and classic rock music in Culture Watch. As always, I will share My Writing, Interviews, Reviews, Voices of the Day, What Others Are Saying, and an updated Calendar. First, check out a brief video of the new book and share it with friends you think will like My Saddest Pleasures. Find out what others have said […]

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