“Reading a Book is Like Life:
You Live it One Page at a Time.” (Ron Yates)
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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.
The Latest From My Blog
The Challenges of Writing Historical Fiction: Part 3
During a recent “virtual book tour” with several book bloggers, I was asked what three lessons I learned while writing my Finding Billy Battles trilogy. It was a good question because it caused me to stop and think about the fiction-writing process in a way I never had before. Here …
The Challenges of Writing Historical Fiction: Part 2
When I was signing copies of my Finding Billy Battles trilogy at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books recently, I was asked several times how I conduct research when writing historical fiction. I explained that researching the Finding Billy Battles trilogy began with my memories. I grew up in Kansas …
The Challenges of Writing Historical Fiction: Part One
Those of us who write historical fiction are faced with a plethora of unique challenges. In fact, there are so many that it would be difficult to deal with all of them in one post. So I will break the challenges down into several parts, which I will share with …
Journalism in Crisis: The War on Dissent
As those who follow my blog know, I spent most of my life as a reporter, foreign correspondent, and editor with the Chicago Tribune. After almost 30 years as a professional journalist, I entered academia as a professor of journalism and dean of the College of Media at the University …
Celebrate Thanksgiving with a fact feast
I received this interesting little note from USAFacts and thought I would share it with my followers and subscribers. I found it interesting. I hope you will also. Today is Thanksgiving, and USAFacts has been busy cooking up dessert. The 7 days of pie buffet has returned for a wide-ranging, …
Jogging With the Greatest
I posted the following piece a few days after the death of Muhammad Ali on June 3, 2016. When I was teaching journalism at the University of Illinois, I used to tell the story of how I went jogging with Ali on Chicago’s South Side in 1974. My students always …
How Google Stopped the Red Wave
Today I am reposting a commentary that appeared in the Epoch Times. It is written by Robert Epstein, Ph.D., former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today and currently a senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology. I hope you will check out Dr. Epstein’s observations. They are based …
Joe Biden’s Curious Love Affair with China
Most Americans would prefer to think of China as a friendly nation with a different political and economic perspective of the world. That’s certainly how the current occupant of the White House sees China—at least, that is what he says publicly. Privately, he may have other reasons for viewing China …
Musings in a Writer’s Mind When He Should be Writing
I get a lot of strange emails. Sometimes they contain little bits of wisdom, and when they do, I file them away on my computer for future reference. Today, I want to share some of these musings with you. Perhaps you will find them interesting. Perhaps not. In any case, …
Some Facts About Book Publishing and a Little Shameless Self-Promotion
And now, for a little shameless self-promotion. My books are now available worldwide on the Book Marketing Global Network. Here’s the link: https://bookmarketingglobalnetwork.com/authors/ronald-e-yates-books/ In my journey as an author, I have discovered that the easy part is writing a book, while the toughest element is promoting and marketing it. The …
Happy Veterans Day to my Fellow Vets
Today is Veterans Day. Given that only 1-2 percent of the people of this nation ever put on a uniform, I am not sure Americans have any idea just why Veterans Day is a holiday. Yes, it means schools and most government offices are closed. But it means a lot …
Vote by Mail: Turning the Clock Backwards
When I observe what is happening to America—the country where I grew up, in which I was educated, and where I served in the U.S. Army—I am appalled. Crime, violence, looting. This is NOT the country I know and love. This is an aberration, a disfigurement of our Republic. America’s …
