Over the last 50 years, Mark Walker has traveled to places most Guatemalans have never seen. He uses encounters with ordinary Guatemalans, profiles, and stories from local Mayan leaders, advocates, writers, and poets to bring a new appreciation and understanding of this country. Maps, graphs, fact sheets, and photos support 17 stories to provide insights into the inner workings of Guatemalan society.
About the Author :
Mark Walker was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala and spent over forty years helping disadvantaged people in the developing world. Walker's previous two books are Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond and My Saddest Pleasures: 50 Years on the Road, named Best Travel Book. He's written 80 book reviews, and of his 30 published essays, two were recognized by the Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing. He's a contributing writer for "The Authors Show," "The Wanderlust Journal" and "Literary Traveler." His column, "The Million Mile Walker Review: What We're Reading and Why," is part of the Arizona Authors Association newsletter. His honors include the "Service Above Self" award from Rotary International. He's a Board member of Advance Guatemala and the Arizona Authors Association. His wife and three children were born in Guatemala. You can learn more at www.MillionMileWalker.com
Review :
"... In The Guatemala Reader, the author begins with a truth that all travelers will endorse. There is always one place, one culture, and country, that becomes your personal lodestar. Your sense of the world in its ragged variety is guided by it. For Walker, Guatemala is that country, and the careful intelligence with which he has assembled the collection testifies to his deep understanding of the place and the people who live there. The individual pieces are varied in theme and approach. The evocative illustrations are superb. Even the map is just right, identifying the numerous locales in which Walker has worked, lived, and learned to appreciate the complex cultural reality that is Guatemala. This book is for everyone." Mark Jacobs is the author of Stone Cowboy and Silent Light.
"Mark Walker's The Guatemala Reader is much more than eye-opening journeys through the history, folklore, politics, art, and literature of Guatemala. It is enriched by personal accounts of in-depth experiences over a lifetime of living and traveling the stunningly diverse and complex cultural, linguistic, and physical landscapes of the country. It is also particularly timely during these challenging times of migrations from Central America to the United States, for it offers an opportunity to build bridges across cultures, paths for understanding and connecting with migrants who, in all their diversity, may at first appear strangely, perhaps threateningly different and monolithic..." Joe Lurie, Author of Perception and Deception-A Mind-Opening Journey Across Cultures, Emeritus Executive Director, UC Berkeley's International House.
Since the 1970s, when he arrived in Guatemala as a Peace Corps volunteer, Walker has studied and explored the country while passionately advocating for its indigenous peoples. Blending storytelling with analysis, The Guatemala Reader is brimming with wisdom, insight, and compassion. Mark D. Walker is the ideal guide for those looking for a deeper understanding of the issues confronting Guatemala and Central America." Stephen Benz, Author of Guatemalan Journey, and Topographies, Professor of English Literature, University of New Mexico.
"This is a great collection of essays by Mark Walker, some evocative of a beautiful country, some quivering with hard facts and descriptions, all fully illustrative of what has been happening in Guatemala for the last half-century and more. These are indeed "Extraordinary Lives and Amazing Stories." Walker's connection to Central America goes back over fifty years. Whether you know much or little about Guatemala, you'll learn plenty here about the engaging culture and history of this remarkable near-neighbor of ours." John Thorndike, Author of A Hundred Fires in Cuba, Another Way Home: A Single Father's Story.
"I was pulled in by the stories of some fascinating characters-And why do any of us read if it's not for stories?-and by some of the book's universal themes: the personal cross-cultural journeys of Mark, his wife Ligia, and a handful of expatriates; the exploitation and oppression of indigenous people (in this case the Maya) by greedy foreign companies and their implicit governments; the courage of those who oppose injustice; the wisdom and life lessons of the marginalized and the downtrodden." Craig Storti is the author of Why Travel Matters, The Hunt for Mount Everest, and the founder of Communicating Across Cultures.
