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...

“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...

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)...

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...

Let’s face it–Christmas shopping can take on an obligatory cast. What to buy. My experience is that gifts that ‘enable’ make the best Christmas gifts. How about some long-distance hiking narratives to plant seeds in the recipients minds. I was 44 years-old and had never spent the night outside when I decided to attempt to thru-hike the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail. I was so taken with the experience that I decided to...

Today and tomorrow, December 5th and 6th, Bill Walker’s series of Skywalker hiking books will be available for free upload on Amazon Kindle. These include: Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail The Best Way–El Camino de Santiago Tall Tales–The Great Talisman of Height