“Reading a Book is Like Life: You Live it One
Page at a Time.” (Ron Yates)
About Ronald E. Yates
Author, former foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, and Dean & Professor Emeritus of the College of Media at the University of Illinois, his acclaimed works are now available through this site.
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Latest Books
- The Improbable Journeys of Billy Battles
- Finding Billy Battles
- The Kikkoman Chronicles
- The Reporter’s Handbook
- More Books . . .
The Latest From My Blog
CDC says no more masks or social distancing indoors & outdoors for fully vaccinated people!
Boo Hoo. Millions of mask-loving leftists and other human-sheep must be bawling their eyes out at this news. I have never seen so many people dedicated to wearing face masks in my life—unless of course, we are talking about people who admire Spiderman, Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter, Leatherface, or Doctor … Read more…
American History: Twisted by Socialist Teachers & Professors
George Orwell once made this prescient statement: “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” Guess who was listening to the author of 1984? Joe Biden was. So were the leaders of the American Federation of Teachers Union, the bogus … Read more…
Is America a Nation of “Wussified” Men?
In an era where there is a lot of complaining about “toxic masculinity” (a bogus term as far as I’m concerned), Hollywood has apparently unilaterally decided that men in today’s films need to be “feminized” or cerebrally castrated in order to satisfy the “wussification factor” spreading throughout America. What do … Read more…
TOOLS OF A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, THEN AND NOW
Back in 1975 B.C. (Before Cyberspace), I lugged a 17-pound Olivetti Lettera 32 portable typewriter from the jungles of Cambodia to the central highlands of Vietnam as I covered the fall of both countries to communist forces. That Olivetti never failed me, though it took a severe pounding as I … Read more…
Remembering the Final 24 Hours in the Fall of Saigon
Forty-seven years ago, I was in a place called Saigon as it fell to Communist North Vietnamese troops. It is a day I will never forget, not only because I wasn’t sure if I would get out of Vietnam in one piece, but because I still consider it one of … Read more…
Systemic Racism in America is a Canard
I recently read a new book by Kathleen Brush, Ph.D. entitled “Racism and anti-Racism in the World: before and after 1945.” It does a good job of arguing against the B.S. being spewed by President Biden, Black Lives Matter, the 1619 Project, and the “Border Czarina” aka Kamala Harris. The … Read more…
Biden’s Destruction of America via Critical Race Theory, Etc.
I never thought I would see the day when a U.S. president would lead the way in the obliteration of America. But that is exactly what is happening today. And it is quite possible Joe Biden doesn’t even know that he is doing it. The man who is squatting in … Read more…
Key West Today: Hemingway Would Hate It
[Yesterday, I posted about the Ken Burns documentary/biography on Ernest Hemingway that is currently airing on PBS and the pilgrimage I made to Hemingway’s house in Key West, Florida. Hemingway lived in the house in the 1930s during the apex of his career as a novelist. In this post, I … Read more…
A Hemingway Documentary & a Pilgrimage to “Papa’s” Key West Abode
PBS is currently running a new three-part documentary about Ernest Hemingway by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick which explores the famous author’s own image-making. In the documentary, we see Hemingway as a “man’s man–” a battle-hardened war veteran, a big game hunter, a deep-sea fisherman, a brawler, a boozer, a … Read more…
An Essay for All Those Who Don’t Get It
I don’t know who E.P. Unum is–though I do know that handle stands for E Pluribus Unum. Those Latin words are the traditional motto of the United States and mean: “Out of many, one.” So, whoever is writing under the name of “E. P. Unum” is paying homage to one … Read more…
Stop Critical Race Theory Before It Destroys America
Today, I am reprinting a commentary on the damage Critical Race Theory is doing to children in our schools and to our nation as a whole. It is written by Roger L. Simon, a novelist, and screenwriter. I have posted on Critical Race Theory before with my own thoughts about … Read more…
Ramblings about the Late Larry McMurtry
When I heard that Larry McMurtry passed away last Thursday in his Archer, Texas home at the age of 84, I was saddened. What a loss! What a prolific writer! What a storyteller! His 30 novels, many of which have been turned into classic films and television series, such as … Read more…
