Author Archives: John Walters

A Second Look: America Redux: Impressions of the United States After Thirty-Five Years Abroad

Update February 15th, 2020: For some reason I had a strong urge to repost this description of the memoir I wrote upon returning to the United States after spending thirty-five years overseas. Perhaps it’s due to the sense of displacement … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 4 Edited by Neil Clarke

This is the third Best of the Year volume in the science fiction and fantasy field that I have read this year, and… I wouldn’t say that I am becoming jaded, but I am learning that not all that is … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race by Douglas Brinkley

This is a fascinating book about America’s efforts to conquer space during the Cold War. However, it is not a comprehensive history of the space program. Instead, it focuses on John F. Kennedy’s fixation on space exploration and eventually on … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond Earth by Michio Kaku

I won’t pretend to understand even a small amount of the physics behind the principles and theories presented in this book, but to my relief it’s not necessary to be good at physics to derive great enjoyment and edification from … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: The Armageddon Rag by George R.R. Martin

Although set in the 1980s, this book is actually about the 1960s. I lived the sixties in the early seventies, but I recognized all the cultural buttons Martin pushes, the references obscure and famous, and the sense of loss of … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell

Years ago I read Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers and found it fascinating. It’s a study on how people achieve extraordinary success, and the main conclusion, as I remember, is that the key is not superlative intelligence or talent, but rather … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Writing, Travel, and Literature: 2019 in Review

In many respects the way I conducted my professional life in 2018 and 2019 was similar. I usually worked seven days a week. First I would write articles, blog posts, and other quick-paying copy for eight or more hours a … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Consequential Frontier: Challenging the Privatization of Space by Peter Ward

In September of 2018 I posted a review of a book called The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos by Christian Davenport. It’s a thrilling and dynamic look at the efforts of private … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Senescent Nomad

My latest novel The Senescent Nomad is now available!  After his grown children move out, a divorced writer faces the prospect of living alone in a small apartment in Seattle. Instead, he buys a camper van, dubs it Good Fortune, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Books Make Great Gifts

For some traditional reason, after Thanksgiving has come and gone, people commence a search for holiday gifts for family members, relatives, friends, acquaintances, in-laws, outlaws, colleagues, and sometimes total strangers. If you’re looking for fun, sophisticated, lively, intense, flamboyant, and … Continue reading

Posted in Reading | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment