As a long-time student and writer on Guatemala, I’ve often pondered the country’s inequality and the extreme power of its elite. Although written over thirty years ago, Guatemala: Lineage and Racism goes a long way in explaining it. The author brings a unique perspective to this meticulous study as she is a descendant of one of those elite families. She traces the phenomenon from colonial conquest to contemporary neoliberalism. And her genealogical approach—tracing the intermarriages, business alliances, and ideological continuities among elite families—offers a blueprint for understanding how power reproduces itself across generations. The author identifies twenty-two oligarchic families who […]
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The Demise of Soft Power and Harsh Times, Million Mile Walker Dispatch, May 2025
Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, I’ll focus on the impact of dismantling overseas development programs in Culture Watch. Then it’s What We’re Reading and Why, a new Scanning Project segment, What Others Are Saying, plus an updated Calendar. Culture Watch Many Americans are unaware what USAID does and few realize the impact of its dismantling. Humanitarian programs like USAID and the Peace Corps comprise our “Soft Power” which impacts how we are perceived abroad. The number of lives lost by its disappearance. Brooke Nicols, a Professor of Global Health at Boston University, developed an impact […]
Continue readingSo, What’s a Writer to Do? Million Mile Walker Dispatch December, 2024 edition
Dear Colleagues and Friends from Around the World, Thanksgiving greetings to one and all! You can click on the poster above to access the latest Arizona Authors Association Dispatch (AAA), which includes accomplishments and my latest book review, as well as several essays and resources from top authors of the AAA. This month, I’ll focus on the writer’s role in this ever-more violent and complex world. 2024 was a year with unprecedented violence, record immigrant displacement, a growth with human trafficking, growing inequality, greater levels of misinformation, political abuse, and hatred against the “enemy from within,” which includes immigrants as […]
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 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 Volcanoes Above Us by Norman Lewis, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker
I first heard about this book from a podcast, Personal Landscapes, by Ryan Murdock, who interviewed biographer Julian Evans, “Norman Lewis: The 20th Century’s Greatest Travel Writer.” This caught my attention because Norman Lewis wrote a book about Guatemala. The podcast reveals what made this author and this book special. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ri3-amHtYGs Lewis was brought up in a bizarre family situation and didn’t have access to the education or other advantages many of the travel writers of that period had. He had an instinct to be in the right place to capture traditional ways of life on the brink of modernity, […]
Continue readingElites & Inequality: the Path to Political Disintegration & the Guatemala Reader, Million Mile Walker Dispatch, September 2023 Issue
Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, This month, I’ll provide an update on my forthcoming book, The Guatemala Reader, and the situation with the Presidential election there. In Culture Watch, we’ll look at the impact of the growth of elites and inequality in the U.S. My Writing and Reviews will include the latest book and movie reviews. Voices in Action will include a provocative quote, and the Calendar will be updated. The Guatemala Reader: I’ve decided to self-publish to preserve the 20 essays and include photographs, a map, a bibliography, and an updated version of “Democracy in Crisis.” […]
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