Bøger af Bill Walker

Why would a middle-aged businessman, who had never even spent a single night outdoors, attempt to hike the entire 2,180 mile Appalachian Trail? Bill Walker, a former commodities trader in Chicago and London, and an avid 'streetwalker', had developed a virtual obsession to thru-hike the AT, which runs for fourteen states from Georgia to Maine. In the early spring of 2005 he set off, determined to hike this Georgia-to-northern Maine wilderness trail before the arrival of winter. Immediately, he realized he had plunged into a whole new world. The AT has some ferociously difficult terrain, winding through dramatically diverse geography, and covers the very highest peaks in the East. Walker's near 7-foot height earned him the trail name, Skywalker, and drew raves from fellow hikers. But that same height made him more vulnerable to weight loss, cold weather, and crushing fatigue. An elemental fear of bears, snakes, and getting lost also loomed large. The journey often seemed like a see-saw battle between his determination vs. his blunders. No other country has a footpath even remotely as popular as the Appalachian Trail. Up to 4,000,000 people hike on the AT during any given year. Mortals are compelled--or perhaps cursed--to relive their lifetime adventure. This is Bill Walker's (Skywalker's) unforgettable version, leavened with ruthlessly self-deprecating humor. His fondest hope is to inspire other rookies and novices, to give the Appalachian Trail a try as well.

What is the best way for the average person to experience the world's greatest mountain range--the Himalayas? Fortunately, there is now a good answer. The Annapurna Circuit in Nepal is the most popular footpath in Asia. Its genius lies in its design. Trekkers wind their way around and along some of the world's greatest peaks, ultimately getting near 18,000 feet, without ever having to do any 'technical climbing'. This Circuit is widely considered one of the world's great treks, and mortals from all around the world are coming to Nepal for the unique chance to 'get high'. Bill Walker ('Skywalker') struggled his way through the Annapurna Circuit in 2012. He has written this entertaining tale of his journey in this land of Sherpas, cold, altitude, and rushing water.

Are you ready to take your piano skills to the next level? Look no further than Mastery of Keys: A Comprehensive Guide of Scales, Arpeggios and Chords, the ultimate guide that will empower pianists of all levels, from beginners to enthusiasts and even seasoned performers. With clear, practical exercises, you'll effortlessly navigate the intricate patterns of scales, arpeggios, and chords in all 15 major and 15 minor keys! From the foundational basics to the most intricate progressions, this book equips you with the tools to unlock your true potential as a pianist.Written by a seasoned pianist, educator, and composer, "Mastery of Keys" goes beyond rote memorization, encouraging a true connection with the instrument and its language. Prepare to embark on an enlightening voyage that enriches your musicality and instills confidence in every stroke of the keys. Take a look at what is found inside: Section 1: ScalesFive Finger ScalesMajor Scales: One OctaveMajor Scales: Two OctavesMajor Scales: Three OctavesMajor Scales: Four OctavesMinor Scales: Natural, Melodic & HarmonicMajor & Harmonic Minor Scales in 3rdsMajor & Harmonic Minor Scales in 6thsMajor & Harmonic Minor Scales in 10thMajor & Harmonic Minor Scales in OctavesChromatic Scales: Unison, Major 3rds, Minor 3rds, Major 6ths, Minor 6thsSection 2: ArpeggiosMajor, Minor, Dominant 7th & Diminished 7thSection 3: ChordsScale-Tone Chords, Cadences & Inversions24 Chords Beginning on Each Root NoteSection 4: AppendicesAppendix A: The Circle of Fifths DiagramAppendix B: GlossaryHappy Playing!

"Anatomy is destiny," Freud famously wrote. Since caveman times, humans have had practically sacred attitudes towards height. Bill Walker, a near 7-foot tall globetrotter, has produced a highly entertaining book-Tall Tales-on this much underrated subject. Walker ruthlessly submerges his ego to tell a ream of strange, but true, real-life stories. These include flunking the physical to enter the U.S. Army, suffering rejection by horrified members of the opposite sex, and being treated like a wild animal escaped from the zoo in foreign countries. Walker expands the discussion beyond himself to include some intriguing issues: --the infamous Napoleonic short man's complex. And how about its inverse for tall people--the ostrich complex? --What is one to make of the avalanche of studies that show tall people consistently make more money than their shorter counterparts, and win almost every presidential election? --Most of history's mass-murderers have been well to the short side. Is this merely a coincidence? --A closer, more revealing, look at the lives of 7'1 1/2" Wilt Chamberlain, 7'2 1/2" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 8'11" Robert Wadlow, and 6'5" Abraham Lincoln. --Why short and small may well be the wave of the future.

The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT)is the perfect place for an average person to do something extraordinary. Bill Walker ("Skywalker"), who stands 6'11", might seem like anything but average. Yet in a brutally honest tone, he lays to bare all his considerable weaknesses and fears. Among these are crushing weight loss and fatigue, along with a fear of getting lost or a bear stealing his food. Nonetheless, he is bound and determined to hike the PCT, which at 2,663 miles, runs all the way from Mexico to Canada. The PCT's calling card is its stunning beauty. It has a diversity of geography unequaled by any footpath in the world. The implacable desert, the towering majesty of the so-called 'High Sierra', and the ruggedly bleak, northern Cascade range all haunt and beckon PCT hikers. Indeed, the PCT hiker faces much greater extremes of terrain and climate than on the famed Appalachian Trail. Walker's signature characteristic as a writer is his real talent in capturing people ("Skywalker's humor, his delight in human foibles appeal to a broad audience."--Jeff Minnick, Smoky Mountain Book News). Obviously, he is a people person because he runs into and vividly describes a truly colorful cast of characters from seemingly all walks of American life. Among these are Uber Bitch, Shit Bag, and Serial Killer; the reader learns how these hikers ended up with their names (hint: blunders). The reader need not worry that Walker is a bully. Throughout this irreverent narrative, he turns his considerable supply of humor back on himself in ruthlessly self-deprecating fashion. It all makes for a delightful read.

"English Vocabulary for Academic Success" is for you if you are an English language student. With this workbook and its dictionary, you will learn the most important academic words that you will need for passing the TOEFL test and other tests. These words are important for you for understanding English in college and university courses."English Vocabulary for Academic Success" is for you if you are studying English at the intermediate or advanced level. This vocabulary book is for you if you already know about 2,000 basic English words and if you want to study at a college or university in an English-speaking country.With "English Vocabulary for Academic Success," you will learn 540 words from the Academic Word List. You can check your answers using the answer key at the end of each unit and find more information about each word in the dictionary section. This workbook has 10 units, with 54 words per unit. By studying for one hour a day, you can finish one unit in about one week.Not only will your vocabulary improve, but also your grammar will improve as you practice changing the parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.), changing nouns from singular to plural and changing verb endings. Your spelling will improve because you have to spell each word accurately.There are exercises for producing each word seven or eight times: definition exercises (one sentence in context); "parts of speech" exercises (two sentences in context); collocations exercises (two or three sentences in context); synonyms Crossword Puzzles; review exercises (one sentence in context).Each unit has a dictionary with: definitions; parts of speech; collocations for each definition and each part of speech; additional definitions for idiomatic uses; synonyms; many sample sentences.Collocations are the key to producing vocabulary words the way native speakers do. A collocation is a word or group of words that naturally go together with a specific word. For example, the word "context" has the collocation "to take (something) out of." Thus, a native speaker would say "Please don't take my words out of context." There are thousands of collocation examples in "English Vocabulary for Academic Success."By learning these words, you will know almost 90% of the words that you read and hear in academic situations. You will read faster and understand much better. Your academic writing will improve because you will be able to produce the words with accurate grammar and spelling and use them with their correct collocations the way native speakers do.By knowing these words, you will have a greater chance to pass the TOEFL and other tests.Free Quizzes: Professionally prepared quizzes for each unit are available for instructors whose students are required to use this textbook. Please find more information in the preface of the book.Instructors whose second language is English will find this book extremely useful. This book provides thousands of examples of how native speakers of English use vocabulary in real-world situations. There are nearly 4,000 contextualized sentences in exercises of the ten units, as well as hundreds more sentences in the dictionary section of each unit.

Best-selling mystery novelist Trevor Hughes has no idea that attending his twentieth reunion at Harvard will forever change his life. Persuaded to go by his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Dr. Julia Magnusson, he meets up with three old friends: Solly Rubens, a self-made Wall Street millionaire; Ken Faust, a successful software entrepreneur; and Harlan Astor, New York real estate tycoon and the glue that holds their circle together. That afternoon, over drinks at the Harvard Club, Harlan drops his bombshell: He is doing what James Cameron did not -- he is rebuilding the Titanic, and sailing the ship on the hundredth anniversary to honor those who died, including his great-grandfather, John Jacob Astor IV. Only Trevor is intrigued by Harlan's audacity. Touched by his friend's interest and concern, Harlan invites him on the maiden voyage to serve as the official chronicler. On April 10, 2012, Trevor journeys to Southampton and, along with the hundreds of handpicked passengers, boards the Titanic. He is awed by the immensity of the ship and the feelings that well up in him. His friend has made his grand dream a reality. During the journey, armed with his iPod Touch and a miniature wireless camera hidden in his glasses, Trevor interviews both passengers and crew, eager to learn the reasons why they chose to sail on the reborn ship. Nearly every one of them claims to have been profoundly affected by Cameron's film, wanting to recapture the magic for themselves. And some of them are dying -- their last wish to be on the maiden voyage of the new Titanic. Trevor is touched that his friend has allowed these people to come aboard, and is unprepared when he meets Madeleine Regehr, a beautiful, free-spirited woman who resists his entreaties to be interviewed, intriguing Trevor all the more. Slowly, and inexorably, Maddy draws him out of his shell, allowing him to love deeply and completely, for the very first time in his life. But Trevor soon discovers a darker purpose for the voyage, a purpose that threatens to destroy him and the woman he loves. In a race against time that pits friend against friend, Trevor must stop the unstoppable or risk a horrific replay of history...

Since the times of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, Americans have headed off to Europe on odysseys of self-improvement. But until recently, Americans have not chosen 'the best way'-El Camino de Santiago. Bill Walker ("Skywalker") decided to undertake this 500 mile pilgrimage, stretching from the Pyrenees in southern France to the mystical Galician province in Northwest Spain. Better yet, he did it in the 'Holy Year' of 2010. Fully 200,000 pilgrims were struggling on foot to make it to the Great Gothic Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. The Camino is supposed to be a religious-spiritual pilgrimage. But some European pilgrims told Walker it was really the "The European Divorcee Trail." At Walker's side was his 18 year-old nephew, Gavin, who thrives with his special brand of Fonzie-like charm. The towel-snapping banter between the two of them is reminiscent of the frat-boy dialogue between Bill Bryson and Katz. Better yet, the two of them learn just how delightful the French really can be (except, of course, when they're being impossible), why the Germans are almost all model pilgrims, and the tragi-glorious roots of the Spanish national character.

This book is designed to help you learn the most important and frequent vocabulary that you will need for reading academic textbooks in English and for passing the TOEFL test. The typical international student taking college-level courses in English probably only knows about 80% to 85% of the words used most frequently in academic texts (between 2,000 and 3,000 different words).This book can help you increase your word knowledge so that you can possibly know 90% to 95% of the words in academic texts. There are hundreds of exercises, an answer key, and a complete dictionary of all the words. When you learn these words, you will be able to read English faster and understand everything much better.

Two hearts in need of love. A burning question unanswered. A secret dark enough to see them both destroyed.Brian Weller is a man at the edge of despair. Haunted by the accident that claimed the life of his son and left his wife terminally comatose, the bestselling author finds his career stalled and his muse silent. But when an email from a former lover shows up in his inbox after his wife's death, he's overcome by a powerful compulsion to revisit their affair.Boston artist Joanna Richman has settled into the comfortable routine of a perfectly boring existence. But she can't help thinking of the young writer who enflamed her soul and inspired her work, then mysteriously abandoned her fifteen years ago. So when a book tour brings him back into her orbit, she decides now is the time to demand closure.Though their reunion has Brian falling for her all over again, he fears the hostile force that tore them in two will strike once more. But when Joanna learns the truth of why he disappeared, the deceit may rip apart everything she holds dear.Can they rediscover their lost connection and craft the future they both deserve?A Note from an Old Acquaintance is a tense second chance romance. If you like gut-wrenching suspense, rekindled desires, and the ultimate power of true love, then you'll adore Bill Walker's page-turning tale.Buy A Note from an Old Acquaintance to renew passion today!

He knows they''re plotting to alter the end of World War II. But he''s already too late to stop them...Miami, 1993. Jack Dunham doesn''t know if he''s gone insane or not. His best friend has assured him the Nine Old Men at their country club are planning to change history by giving Hitler the details of Operation: Overlord. But before he can think what to do, Jack awakens in a Nazi-occupied America.Unaware at first that anything is wrong, his memories come flooding back. Realizing the "resettlement" of Blacks and Jews is a sham and that LGBTQ folks are next, Jack joins the resistance and falls hard for its beautiful, charismatic leader. But when their headquarters is raided by the Gestapo, they''re forced on the run... not just from their home, but through time itself.Can the brave couple return to 1944 and reset the past before they''re wiped from existence?The Normandy Club is a romantic World War II time travel thriller. If you like fast-paced action, rich period detail, and the eternal battle of good versus evil, then you''ll love Bill Walker''s nightmare tale.Buy The Normandy Club to confront the face of darkness today!

Everyone's out to get him. When he hits it big on the silver screen, will it make him immortal... or a bigger target? Chicago, 1934. John Dillinger is weary of life as an outlaw. So when the FBI surrounds him at the Biograph Theater, the notorious thief surprises everyone and surrenders. And desperate to prove to the world he's gone straight, he makes a newsreel film from prison encouraging youngsters not to choose crime. John Dillinger in front of a camera proves as deadly as a Thompson submachine gun. Handsome and charismatic, Dillinger lights up the screen, and his little newsreel catapults him to stardom. Pardoned due to the success of the picture, Dillinger finds himself deep in the cutthroat world of Hollywood. And with J. Edgar Hoover furious and actors like Clark Gable jealous, the criminal-turned-movie-star may find Tinseltown deadlier than robbing banks. Can Dillinger survive his newfound fame, or will he die on the cutting room floor? Starring... John Dillinger is a wild and light-hearted alternative history novel. If you like guns, girls and gangsters, all mixed in a potent cocktail of wicked humor and imaginative what-if's, then you'll love Walker and Anthony's speculative story. Buy Starring... John Dillinger to go from convict to celebrity today!

Surrounded by lies. Haunted by questions. One man's quest for truth could expose the treason of the century. London, 1984. Michael Thorley, Jr. regrets never knowing his father. Taken from him by the war before he was born, Michael consoles himself by helping families track down the final resting places of lost soldiers. But when he's flooded by requests for unlisted conscripts from a non-existent regiment, he's plunged into a treacherous forty-year-old mystery powerful figures would rather remain buried... Shaken by the revelation, Michael has barely begun to unearth the facts when an alluring woman turns up on his doorstep begging to speak with his late dad. And now convinced his father's death was suspicious, the two follow a trail leading to deceitful double lives and shocking Soviet secrets that could get them both killed. Can Michael uncover a blood-drenched conspiracy before he's sent to his own unmarked grave? D-NOTICE is a heart-stopping Cold War thriller. If you like complex characters, twisted coverups, and nail-biting escapes, then you'll love Bill Walker's breathtaking tale. Buy D-NOTICE to bring justice to forgotten heroes today!