James B. WellsJAMES B. WELLS is a retired criminology and criminal justice professor in the School of Justice Studies in the College of Justice, Safety, and Military Science at Eastern Kentucky University, and is the recipient of the 2025 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences John Howard Award, an award given intermittently, upon significant demand, to recognize an individual who has made significant and sustained contributions to the practice of corrections. A former carpenter, soldier, and correctional officer in a super-maximum-security prison and later as a researcher/planner assisting architects in prison design, he has multiple degrees, including an M.S. in Criminal Justice, a Ph.D. in Research, and an MFA in Creative Writing. He’s authored or co-authored over sixty-five books, chapters, articles, and essays, as well as over a hundred and fifty research reports for various local, state, and federal agencies. Recent essays from his research and memoir work appear or are forthcoming in Collateral Journal, About Place Journal, Wild Roof Journal, Military Experience and the Arts, The Wrath-Bearing Tree, Shift, Proud to be: Writing by American Warriors, Trajectory Journal, and From Pen to Page III: More Writings from the Bluegrass Writers Coalition.
His investigative memoir about his father's still CIA-classified death in Vietnam in 1965, titled Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew, will be launched on Father's Day weekend, 2025. Links to publications, presentations, trailers, social media, blog, and other information can be found at https://jamesbwells.com. James enjoys spending much of his leisure time with his spouse on their Lexington, Kentucky farm located on the palisades of the Kentucky River, where he is an organic gardener and beekeeper.
Friday and Saturday evenings I did signings at Liberty Books, a quaint and historic bookstore in downtown Lawrenceville GA. There I met old friends and new friends, several of which were drawn to the bookstore based upon the feature story Atlanta Journal-Constitution book critic Suzanne Van Atten did on my book and me for the […]
Thank you, Jane Turner and Whistleblower Network News, for the interview and podcast that highlighted my father’s whistleblowing efforts during the early part of the Vietnam War. Organizations like Whistleblower Network News play a crucial role in reminding Americans that whistleblowing has been, and continues to be, an essential aspect of our democracy since its […]
The author event in my father’s hometown of Minford, Ohio, turned out to be an incredible experience. Brenda, our daughter Millicent, and my brother Ora reconnected with many friends we hadn’t seen in decades and with relatives we hadn’t seen for a while. I would like to thank my brother, Dr. Ora Wells, for serving […]
Wow! What a night! I was honored to be invited by my former Blue Grass Writers Studio MFA program to be one of the featured readers at the Alumni reading at Dreaming Creek Brewery last night. It was quite a rush to see your reading resonate with new students who were not familiar with you, […]
In Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew, “There are echoes here of Hamlet’s search for the father cut off in the prime of life under circumstances that are purported to be true but are actually false. Hamlet’s quest is to find the truth and thus put […]
Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew “is a detective narrative chronicling a skilled researcher analyzing letters, reports, and interviews to bring closure for himself and his family, while also providing a record of events from half a century ago. James Wells’ efforts add to our understanding […]
Over the past two consecutive days, Brenda and I visited both branches of From the Ground Up Books in the charming towns of Shepherdsville and LaGrange, KY. I had the opportunity to meet locals and tourists while selling copies of my investigative memoir, Because: A CIA Cover-Up and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father […]
I would like to thank Ellen Birkett Morris for speaking with me last night at Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville. I would like to extend a special thanks to event coordinator Alex, who did a marvelous job with the setup. Autographed copies of both of our books are available at the store. Although Ellen’s book, Beware the Tall Grass, is a […]
Last night, I had the honor of conversing with Kentucky Poet Laureate and author Richard Taylor at the Paul Sawyer Library in Frankfort. During our discussion, Richard asked me questions about my investigative memoir, “Because: A CIA Cover-Up and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew.” He wrote an amazing testimonial about my […]
On this International Whistleblower Day, I am proud to highlight my father, Jack J. Wells. As early as March 1948, while serving as a 21-year-old Provost Sergeant at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, he acted as a whistleblower, risking his own safety so much he had to sleep with a gun under his pillow and […]
James B. Wells