Bøger af Mark Wentling

Africa's Embrace is author Mark Wentling's fictional account about the adventures of a young man from Kansas who travels to Africa and becomes caught up in a mystical larger-than-life adventure. This well-crafted novel revolves around the main character of "David," who abruptly leaves his home in Kansas in order to follow his destiny in Africa. Upon arrival, he is renamed "Bobovovi" and chosen by the spirit world to ride the "mountain moonbeam" and become "transformed" by an ancient baobab tree. Bobovovi does his best to make his goodwill prevail, but his humanitarian work is fraught with unforeseen, unusual challenges. He moves from one surprising adventure to another, telling an African story unlike any the reader has ever heard before. Africa changes him in unimaginable ways, and those changes are inculcated into the reader and teach a variety of lessons. Although Africa's Embrace is literary fiction, the novel is, in actuality, a thinly-veiled autobiographical account of the author's three years of working in an African village back in the 1970s. The clever and gripping plot of the novel is a powerful, emotional story, combining magical realism with a colorful description of the practical challenges of living and working in Africa. The book introduces a cast of unforgettable characters and forces the reader to enter deep into the heart of Africa, and to consider the spiritual implications of introducing change. Mark Wentling is one of the rare people on Earth who has visited or worked in all fifty-four African countries.

Fascinated by a mysterious novella, aspiring journalist Robin Fletcher is determined to find out more about the book's main character, a man known only as J.B. His quest leads him from the wheat fields of Kansas to a small, disadvantaged country in Africa. Thousands of miles from Kansas, in the small village of Ataku, half-caste chief Letivi grapples with his village's problems. The villagers' main source of income, subsistence cocoa farming, cannot compete with global companies. Young people are leaving the village, and the village's only store is under the control of a foreign businessman. Letivi also has personal problems. Wifeless and childless, his ability to understand the family struggles of his village is under question. His supernaturally sensitive mother is dying, a tragedy coinciding with the death of the enormous baobab tree into which Letivi's father disappeared years ago. As Letivi and the villagers plan the development of a cocoa processing plant, Fletcher traces J.B. to Ataku, prompting a spontaneous trip to Africa with Molly, a ravishing but erratic woman with family ties to the elusive J.B. When Letivi, Molly, and Robin meet, cultures clash and calamitous events are set in motion that change Ataku forever.

JB's elderly brother and sister were recluses and never spoke to anyone... They were the only ones who could possibly know what had happened to JB, but they did not talk to anyone. They seemed intent on taking JB's secret, if indeed they knew his secret, to the grave with them. Journey to another time and place in Mark Wentling's magical new novel, Africa's Release. The residents of Gemini, Kansas, have grown used to the odd man who goes by the name of JB and roams their neighborhood in a befuddled state. But when he abruptly disappears one night, the townspeople find themselves facing uncomfortable questions, as JB's life and the dark discoveries in his ramshackle home are made public. Little do they know that JB's ramblings have all been for a purpose: to transport him back to the African village he left many years before. Now he has returned to the old baobab tree that had years ago swallowed him up-an event that elevated him to the level of demigod in the eyes of the remaining villagers. This sequel to the popular Africa's Embrace, and the second in Wentling's African trilogy, is sure to enchant readers once more.

JB's elderly brother and sister were recluses and never spoke to anyone... They were the only ones who could possibly know what had happened to JB, but they did not talk to anyone. They seemed intent on taking JB's secret, if indeed they knew his secret, to the grave with them. Journey to another time and place in Mark Wentling's magical new novel, Africa's Release. The residents of Gemini, Kansas, have grown used to the odd man who goes by the name of JB and roams their neighborhood in a befuddled state. But when he abruptly disappears one night, the townspeople find themselves facing uncomfortable questions, as JB's life and the dark discoveries in his ramshackle home are made public. Little do they know that JB's ramblings have all been for a purpose: to transport him back to the African village he left many years before. Now he has returned to the old baobab tree that had years ago swallowed him up-an event that elevated him to the level of demigod in the eyes of the remaining villagers. This sequel to the popular Africa's Embrace, and the second in Wentling's African trilogy, is sure to enchant readers once more.

Africa's Embrace is author Mark Wentling's fictional account about the adventures of a young man from Kansas who travels to Africa and becomes caught up in a mystical, larger-than-life adventure. This well-crafted novel revolves around a young man named David, who abruptly leaves his home in Kansas in order to follow his destiny in Africa. Upon arrival, he is renamed "Bobovovi" and chosen by the spirit world to ride the "mountain moonbeam" and become "transformed" by an ancient baobab tree. Bobovovi does his best to make his goodwill prevail, but his humanitarian work is fraught with unforeseen, unusual challenges. He moves from one surprising adventure to another, telling an African story unlike any the reader has ever heard before. Africa changes him in unimaginable ways, and those changes are inculcated into the reader in order to teach a wide variety of lessons, helping the reader to better understand Africa and Africans Although Africa's Embrace is literary fiction, the novel is, in actuality, a thinly-veiled autobiographical account of the author's three years of working in an African village back in the 1970s. The clever and gripping plot of the novel is a powerful, emotional story, combining magical realism with a colorful description of the practical challenges of living and working in Africa. The book introduces a cast of unforgettable characters and forces the reader to enter deep into the heart of Africa, and to consider the spiritual implications of introducing change. This is a novel that entertains, enriches, and educates. Africa's Embrace is a must read for anyone interested in Africa, as well as the cross-cultural experience and practical challenges of living on the continent. Those who are trying to help people anywhere-through work with an NGO, in the private sector, volunteer or other manner-will find this book to be an eye-opener. And for fiction fans, those readers wishing to be transported to a different time and place will be thrilled by this spellbinding story. Africa's Embrace is playful, dramatic, and professional. It is a serious literary work that will move the readers to both laughter and tears. The magical realism will leave the reader guessing about what's behind the next bend in the road. Wentling has worked and visited all fifty-four African countries. Africa's Embrace is the culmination of four decades of thinking. It is a fictional yet valuable, instructional, and enjoyable read. Africa's Embrace is aimed at all former, actual, and soon-to-be Peace Corps Volunteers and Foreign Service employees. It also may be helpful to those working for non-governmental and international development assistance organizations around Africa. Additionally, the book will be of great use to university African studies departments, as well as English-speaking Africans.

Unexpected twists and turns keep the reader guessing about what will happen next. Throughout this entertaining novel is weaved a one-way dialogue between a dying prisoner who tells repeatedly his sad story to a hungry jailhouse rat, which only lives to eat. The story moves from the death and destruction of one town to the amazing rebuilding of a new town by survivors who lived to tell the tale. The human foibles of many of the book's characters are displayed. Miracles make possible survival, love, and marriage, but evil lurks beneath the surface, and unforeseeable events determine the future of a people and their country. Heroes live and die by the hand of hidden forces beyond their control. The eyes of an innocent young man, offspring of a saintly mother who died giving birth to him, are opened to social injustices caused by an elitist power structure. The ambitions and interests of a few are pursued to the detriment of the majority. Fortunes are decided by a violent border dispute and a heated soccer match that leads to a brief war between two countries. The story begins with hopes created by salvation found in the protection of an old church and ends uncannily in the same church, where a handful of assorted protagonists find they have been given a new lease on life. Yet the question is left open as to which forces will ultimately rule: good or evil? No mention is made of the sacrifices necessary for good to triumph over evil. Will people be willing to work long and hard enough for the good of their country, or will they be guided by their own selfish interests and incapacity to understand what is really at stake? These questions and others are left to the reader to answer. Other questions remain unanswered. Will unscrupulous leaders succeed in manipulating people to support them? Is divine intervention for the good of the people possible? How many chances will good people be given to make the wrongs of society right? Will unanticipated events continue to govern the course taken by a people and their country? Which way will the wheel of time turn, and who will benefit? Nobody masters completely with certainty their destiny. Fate will be what it will be. Several readings of this book could yield some answers to these questions, but good answers to these eternal questions will continue to be beyond the grasp of mere mortals. In the end, it is up to each individual to decide whether or not their life made a positive difference that endures for generations. Or maybe this book is only an engrossing superficial story that has nothing to do with any of these heavy questions or any deeper meaning. Each reader will have to decide for themselves what this book is about.

Dead Cow Road is a compelling work of historical fiction that focuses on the US response to Somalia's 1992 famine. US Foreign Service Officer Ray Read reluctantly accepts an assignment not of his liking, but he persists in doing his duty for his country in war-torn Somalia in spite of his contrary views and tortuous personal problems. Through Ray's eyes, the reader is provided an inside account of the US government's controversial handling of Somalia's complex emergency. The daunting challenges of coping with the harsh realities of a ruined country while trying to do good amid dangerous chaos are amply communicated. This book also imparts key facts about the history, people, and places of this troubled region of Africa. Given current interests and issues regarding the United States' involvement in troubled areas of the world, this book is timely. Although Ray knows virtually nothing about Somalia, he is thrust into Somalia's intractable problems and obliged to deal with some of its most unsavory actors. He finds some relief from the stress of Somalia and his marital problems by striking up a chance romance with a beautiful Kenyan woman. Ray lays his life on the line more than once, but his sacrifices are not recognized. In the end, he is portrayed as a mere cypher in a larger and rapidly unfolding intense scene of unpredictable international consequences. This well-crafted and gripping story combines exceptional political analysis with lively human drama. It also blends fictional characters with real-life people. The author demonstrates that he is a masterful researcher who has an exhaustive command of Somalia's grim predicament. He artfully melds the results of his research with his firsthand experiences in Somalia to produce a remarkable book that educates and entertains. His previous three books, an African trilogy, established his high reputation as an authority on Africa. This book solidifies this reputation. The author is one of the rare people on Earth who has visited or worked in all fifty-four African countries.