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.
One week from today, on Father’s Day weekend, we will launch my investigative memoir titled Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew. The event will take place at 4:00 PM on June 14 at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington Green. This event is more than just a book launch; […]
Whistleblowing Fact 896: My father’s “insistence on doing the right thing, being truthful in his reports, exposing others’ laziness or corruption, etc., is evident in his letters. Unlike most advisors, he was not afraid of criticizing counterparts or turning in pessimistic reports for fear of damaging his career. I have since learned he has a […]
Laurel Review, a biannual print magazine that seeks “submissions of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and those that blur the lines between genres,” recently published an interview co-editor Luke Rolfes did with me about my investigative memoir, Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew. https://laurelreview.org/james-wells
Whistleblowing Fact 895: David Colapinto, whistleblower attorney and co-founder of the National Whistleblower Center, says of Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew: “One of the best whistleblower stories ever. This page-turner tells the real-life story of Jack Wells, who died in the service of his country […]
My investigative memoir, Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew, is in Ireland! Thank you, Jordan Wachman! I encourage others to post their pictures of Because.
Whistleblowing Fact 895: In some of the 400 letters I found 26 years after he died in Vietnam, my father self admits that his actions qualify him as meeting the academic definition of a whistleblower. Two prominent scholars, Near and Miceli, defined in a 1985 journal article what has become the classic and commonly accepted definition […]
Jay McCoy and Kevin Nance interview me about my investigative memoir Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew at 8 pm Wednesday, June 4 at https://radiolex.us/shows/kentucky-writers-roundtable/
The Wrath-Bearing Tree is a literary journal that “was established by a small group of combat veterans in 2013 and has published all kinds of prose and poetry related to the topic of military service, violence, trauma, and resulting mental and emotional health challenges.” Larry Abbott conducted a review of Because and recently interviewed me. […]
June 14 | Lexington, KY | Joseph-Beth Booksellers | Book Launch – In conversation with Robert Dean Johnson discussing and signing Because | 4:00 pm June 15 | Midway, KY | A Likely Story Bookstore | In conversation with Scott White discussing and signing Because | 2:00 pm June 17 | Lexington, KY | Faith Lutheran Church | In conversation with […]
In addition to the launch of my investigative memoir, Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew, at 4 pm on June 14th at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington, there will be a dozen other author events in Kentucky where I will be discussing the book and engaging in conversations […]
James B. Wells