Author Archives: John Walters

Book Review:  Close to Home: The Wonders of Nature Just Outside Your Door by Thor Hanson

If this book had been a type of gardening guide or something similar I would not have been interested. However, Hanson goes beyond merely extolling the beauties of nature you can find close at hand; in fact, his writings have … Continue reading

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Book Review:  The Silence by Don DeLillo

Several years ago I read Zero K, a science fiction novel by Don DeLillo. I recall being impressed by the elegance of the prose but feeling that the plot was too thin to justify the length. In The Silence, a … Continue reading

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Book Review: Quantum Supremacy: How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything by Michio Kaku

I was greatly impressed by the last Michio Kaku book I read, The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything, because it evoked an overwhelming sense of wonder, delving into such fascinating subjects as the theory of gravitation, … Continue reading

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The Ongoing Relevancy of Travel

This week in my newsletter The Perennial Nomad: For Those Who Wander with Intent I discuss the relevancy of travel in these dark times: Among the many sad topics that have hit the news recently are accounts of distrust of … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail by Andrea Lankford

This book, written by a former member of the National Park Service’s law enforcement team, focuses on the years-long search for three through-hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail who disappeared without a trace, two in California and one in Washington. … Continue reading

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On the Hippie Trail

Usually I post book reviews on this website/blog, but because of its focus on travel, for the past two weeks I have posted a two-part review of On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Aflame: Learning from Silence by Pico Iyer

Aflame is a celebration of Iyer’s decades-long infatuation with a Benedictine retreat in an isolated spot in the hills above the ocean at Big Sur. In his recent book The Half-Known Life: In Search of Paradise, Iyer searches the world … Continue reading

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Where Am I?

This week’s newsletter in The Perennial Nomad: For Those Who Wander with Intent celebrates the irresistible urge to roam. Sometimes it takes me awhile to remember where I am in the world. No, that’s not right. Let me rephrase it. … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Memorial Days: A Memoir by Geraldine Brooks

On May 27, 2019, Memorial Day, Australian writer Geraldine Brooks received a phone call telling her that her sixty-year-old husband, Tony Horwitz, who was away on a book tour, suddenly collapsed on a sidewalk in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and died. … Continue reading

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Time Traveling for Nomads

This week in my newsletter The Perennial Nomad: For Those Who Wander with Intent I discuss the value of visiting historical sites while traveling. The concept of time travel has intrigued humankind for centuries. H.G. Wells popularized a device that … Continue reading

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