May 19, 2009 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Self-Published Books Up 132 %

May 19 2009

Self-publishing continues to climb according to Bowker, the bibliographic company. In 2008 285,394 new books were published by print-on-demand companies, a 132% increase compared to 2007. U.S. publishers printed 275,232 new books and editions in 2008–a 3.2 % drop compared to the year before. On Demand and short-run books exceeded the number of traditional books last year. It is the first time that has happened. What does it mean? Well, if not else, people might be reading less, but they are certainly writing more, avoiding the traditional gatekeepers, i.e., agents and editors, and slapping down hard cash to see their names and words in print. I’m all for it. I’d just remind everyone to get an editor and find objective readers to read and comment on your manuscript before you pay for the printing. At the end of the day, you’ll be glad that you did.

RPCVs Rally Around Frank Fountain (India 1966-68) For Peace Corps Director

May 19 2009

The RPCVs from India are rallying around Frank Fountain (India 1966-68) for the Peace Corps directorship. He looks like a very good candidate for the position, being an RPCVs, coming from a corporate and non-profit background. Here’s a little of his history. Frank Fountain grew up in Tunnel Springs, Alabama, a rural segregated community typical of the times. He earned a BS in History and Political Science at Hampton University in Virginia and trained at the University of Missouri at Columbia, MO, and served as an Ag Volunteer in West Bengal. After India, Frank was a Peace Corps Training Staff member in California, then worked two years with Robert Nathan Associates in Washington, DC as a consultant to the Neighborhood Improvements Project of the Office of Economic Opportunity’s Community Action Agency. He taught management skills and techniques of community organizing at a time when these powerful non-violent tools for fighting poverty were . . .

Review: RPCV Barbara Joe's Triumph & Hope

May 19 2009

Triumph & Hope is reviewed by Bob Arias. Bob has had a long history with the Peace Corps, first as a PCV 1964-66, then at the Puerto Rico Training Center 1966-68; as an APCD in Colombia 1966-68; then Special Assistant to the Director, ACTION 1976-77, CD in Argentina-Uruguay, 1993-95, and finally as a consultant to the Peace Corps Safety and Security Office 2002-03. Triumph & Hope: Golden Years With The Peace Corps in Honduras by Barbara Joe (Honduras 2000–03) BookSurge December 2008 316 pages $18.99 Best new non-fiction finalist, National Indie Excellence Awards Reviewed by Bob Arias (Colombia 1964–66) There’s more than triumph and hope going on here, this is a complete “journal” of life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Central American country of Honduras! Barbara believes she is telling you the story of her success and failures as a senior citizen in this lush banana country, when in reality she is describing what most . . .

RPCV Books For Summer Reading

May 19 2009

Before you leave for the long week end, and the long summer, here are a few books to order to take with you. All of these books were written by RPCVs. Support the Peace Corps Community and read some great books! The Italian Summer: Golf, Food, and Family at Lake Como By Roland Merullo (Micronesia 1979-80) Touchstone 272 pages 2009 Madness Under the Royal Palms: Love and Death Behind the Gates of Palm Beach (Non-Fiction) by Laurence Leamer (Nepal 1965-67) Hyperion Press 368 pages 2009 Hippie Chick (young adult) By Joseph Monninger (Burkina Faso 1975-77) 204 pages Front Street Press 2008 The Mind Dancing (Poems) By Tony Zurlo (Nigeria 1962-64) Art and Calligraphy by Vivian Lu 76 pages Plain View Press 2009 The Disappearance (Novel) by Efrem Sigel (Ivory Coast 1965-67) Permanent Press 264 pages 2009 Triumph & Hope: Golden Years With The Peace Corps in Honduras (Memoir) Barbara Joe (Honduras . . .

Archive - May 19, 2009