4 Suggestions For Bookending An Appalachian Trail Hike
Setting out on an Appalachian Trail hike can be one of the most exciting things you ever do. Presumably, you’ve done your preparation, gathered a group together, and laid out your route. That moment – with nothing but the excitement of the trail and beautiful wilderness ahead of you – can be uniquely exhilarating. Because of this, it’s fair to say that just about every voluntary hike through this part of the country starts off well. The hike itself can be just as exciting, and...
read moreSkywalker Gets Good Review for New Novel, ‘Chicago Pits’ (2018)
Bill Walker, author of the popular Skywalker hiking series on the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails has received a strong critical review for his new novel, Chicago Pits (2018). The review was from the respected Midwest Book Review which is selective about books it reviews for independent authors. The book is written in the vein of The Bonfire of the Vanities, the Wall Street satire authored by the late Tom Wolfe. Critique: A saga of a novel, “Chicago Pits” is a solidly written and engagingly entertaining read by an author...
read moreChicago Pits (2018) by Bill Walker (Skywalker) Staggers Readers
“Was it really like that? I can’t believe such large financial transactions are conducted like that,” people keep asking me. They are referring to the daily savagery I write about in Chicago Pits (2018)? My answer-and I was a floor broker for many years– is “Not always. But when the chips were down, all too often it was exactly like that. And that is why they now trade electronically. The customer was the stooge all too often.” The inefficiencies, corruption, and favoritism easily trump what Michael Lewis...
read moreNew Book by Ex-Broker Shows Savagery of Floor Trading in Chicago Pits
Bill Walker, author of the popular Skywalker hiking series, has completed a comprehensive novel on the Chicago commodities business. It is believed to be the only such work of fiction to incorporate extensive trading scenes. The book is titled Chicago Pits and follows the story of Chris Parker, a lanky Alabaman who arrives in Chicago hoping to pile up massive wealth, only to be met with fierce resistance from the powers-that-be. This includes outright violence. Ultimately, Parker decides to strike back, only to be met with retaliation by...
read moreAppalachian Trail Sees Record Number of Thru-Hikers
I just returned from doing a three-week section on the famed Appalachian Trail. The news is all good. The trail is well maintained and blazed, as well as teeming with hikers. According to ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) figures, the number of thru-hikers for the Class of 2018 may reach 4,000–the most ever, and double the number of my Class of 20005. Interestingly, the number of foreigners has surged with Germans (always game travelers) leading the way. Apparently, German public television showed a documentary that got wide exposure,...
read moreFree Amazon Kindle ‘Chicago Pits’ (2018) Saturday February 24th only
Bill Walker, author of the popular Skywalker hiking series, is offering a free upload on Amazon Kindle, Saturday, Feb. 24th of Chicago Pits (2018). It is the first comprehensive novel of the Chicago commodity futures and options business, which was the largest industry in Chicago. Walker previously wrote Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail and Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail.
read moreFree Kindle Upload of ‘Chicago Pits’ by Bill Walker on Saturday, February 24th.
Bill Walker, author of the popular Skywalker hiking books, will be offering a free upload on Amazon Kindle and other handheld devices of his new novel, Chicago Pits. Walker was a futures broker on the trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade and London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE) before he embarked on his long-distance hiking career.
read more‘Chicago Pits’ is first comprehensive novel on Chicago futures and options business
tinyurl.com/ycesd7tw #ChicagoPits Chicago Pits (2018) is the first comprehensive novel on the famed–and infamous–Chicago commodities business. Growing up, I periodically saw pictures of people packed in on a trading floor yelling and screaming and waving their hands as they traded corn, wheat, cattle, etc. Personally, I traded U.S. Treasury Bond Futures at the Chicago Board of Trade and German Bund Futures at the London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE). This book tells the story of a lanky Alabaman who moves to...
read moreInterest in financial books because 54% of Americans exposed to stock market
Financial professionals like to act like the average American is financially illiterate. While they might not be experts, people are increasingly aware of the stock market. Between 401(k) plans, retirement plans, profit-sharing, etc., along with speculators, over half of Americans have exposure to the stock market. The Bonfire of the Vanities was perhaps the most renowned book of the 1980’s; it told a tawdry tale of corruption on Wall Street. The Wolf of Wall Street was a smashing success. Michael Lewis, has had great popular...
read moreSkywalker’s ‘Chicago Pits’ Novel Begins Selling Paperbacks and Kindle e-books
Bill Walker, author of the Skywalker hiking series, including Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appaalachian Trail and Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail, has published his first novel. It is called, Chicago Pits (2018), and draws on his experiences as a commodities broker in the huge Treasury Bond Pit at the Chicago Board of Trade. Readers will be shocked at the savagery in the midst of the world’s largest market. Walker worked and traded at both the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile...
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