Author Archives: John Walters

Book Review: Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam by Fredrik Logevall

Even more than the Korean War, the Vietnam War defined the political, cultural, sociological, and diplomatic landscape of America in the second half of the twentieth century. I grew up in its shadow, as anti-war protests enflamed college campuses and … Continue reading

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On the Publishing of Independent Short Stories

Usually I do not make a special announcement when one of my short stories gets published digitally as an individual entity.  I wait until I collect the stories together in both print and digital form, and then I let you … Continue reading

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Sunflower: A Novel by John Walters – Now Available!

“Sunflower”, my third novel, is now available on Amazon in a print edition here, and in an electronic edition here. This is what the back cover copy says: “In early 1970 a new era, the Age of Aquarius, is dawning. … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri; Part Two: The Book Itself

Before I delve into an appraisal of the novel, I need to mention something that struck me before I even read the first page.  The cover (of the first edition hardcover) is not worthy of the book.  It is bland, … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri; Part One: Background

I’m only about halfway through this latest novel by Jhumpa Lahiri now, but reading it stirs up so many memories I can’t help but write about it.  Lahiri is one of the few writers now working for whose books I … Continue reading

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Walters Walk, or, What It’s Like to Self-Publish

Long ago, even before we had the beach house which is also long gone, our family spent our summer vacations for a few years at Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula.  It’s a beautiful place surrounded by evergreen forest at … Continue reading

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Book Review: Reflections and Refractions: Thoughts on Science Fiction, Science and Other Matters by Robert Silverberg

Back in the early 1970s when I was intensely interested in reading a lot of science fiction, one of my favorite writers was Robert Silverberg.  His short story “Sundance” is one of my favorite short stories of all time, but … Continue reading

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A Tale of Three Jackets

In order to help you understand this completely I need to tell you an anecdote about my father.  He had a great sense of humor back in the days when most of us lived together under one roof, before we … Continue reading

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On Rereading Martin Eden by Jack London; Part Three: The Finale

“Martin Eden” is not Jack London’s best book.  In fact, it’s not even one of his better books.  His best works are his short stories.  Not all of them, because he wrote many, but the ones in which he threw … Continue reading

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On Rereading Martin Eden by Jack London; Part Two: What It Means to Be a Writer

This books hits almost too close to home.  It’s uncanny how reading it now more than four decades after I first read it, I still have many of the same emotions.  Martin Eden decides to become a writer.  He works … Continue reading

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