Dale L. Walker

Walker wrote pre-Civil War history as well as western and military history. His book, Mary Edwards Walker: Above and Beyond (2005) is a biography of the Civil War, his The Boys of '98: Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders (1998) received high praise as had his Bear Flag Rising: The Conquest of California (1999), which told of events that led to the annexation of California in 1846 when the territory was a Mexican province, and Pacific Destiny: The Three-Century Journey to the Oregon Country (2000), which won a Spur Award from Western Writers of America, as had three additional Walker works.

His best writings were biographies such as Januarius MacGahan The Life and Campaigns of an American War Correspondent (1988), which he regarded as his best book.

His first big break came in 1967 when his mentor, the late Richard O'Connor, invited him to collaborate on a biography of radical journalist John Reed. Harcourt, Brace and World published the work as The Lost Revolutionary, which was reviewed by The New York Times. Walker waited 36 years for his second New York Times review, this one for his gold rush book, Eldorado, in 2003.

Walker's freelance writing career began in earnest in 1960 while a college student working part-time at a television reporting job in El Paso. He wrote frequently for newspapers and magazines. His work, close to 2,000 published pieces appeared in 130 periodicals.

Dale L. Walker (August 3, 1935 - December 7, 2015) was an American writer. He was born in Decatur, Illinois, but spent most of his life in El Paso, Texas. The author of twenty-three books, he also served as a television reporter, editor, news and information officer, university press director, freelance writer, biographer, and historian. He was past president of Western Writers of America (WWA).