January 11, 2011 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Review of Gene Stone's The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick

Jan 11 2011

The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick by Gene Stone (Niger 1974–76) Workman Publishing $23.95 www.secretsofpeople.com 212 pages October 2010 Reviewed by Robert E. Hamilton (Ethiopia 1965–67) IF YOU ARE INTERESTED in enhancing your own personal health but are not a zealot about it — that is, you are not a member of the “health nut choir” — read Gene Stone’s “Afterward” first. The zealots will buy and read this book for their own reasons. The rest of us, though, who drive cars but don’t read Road and Track magazine, who want to be healthier without purchasing a library of “how to” publications, will be particularly interested in Stone’s two observations in the “Afterward” which link the “health secrets” of the 25 people included in his book. Stone says that his interviewees have been successful in staying healthy because they found an exercise or health practice which: (1) works . . .

Review of The Nightingale of Mosul by Susan Luz (Brazil 1972-75)

Jan 11 2011

The Nightingale of Mosul: A Nurse’s Journey of Service, Struggle, and War by Susan Luz (Brazil 1972–75) and Marcus Brotherton Kaplan Publishing 2010 243 pages $25.95 Reviewed by Susan O’Neill (Venezuela 1973–74) I PICKED UP THIS BOOK WITH TREPIDATION. The title seemed grandiose; the legend above it trumpeted: “From the daughter-in-law of George Luz Sr., one of the original Band of Brothers.” The blurbs on the back came from Brothers in that Band, a documentary producer specializing in WWII, and a Brigadier General. I thought, We’re selling patriotism here. As a Viet Nam veteran, I’m allergic to patriotism. So I was prepared to scoff. And when early pages featured faith in God’s will and prayer, my scoff-alert heightened. As a former Catholic, I’m allergic to Catholicism. Those disclaimers given, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised. This book, the autobiography of a woman who has lived life double-time in . . .

Thomas Tighe in Politico Playbook

Jan 11 2011

Thomas Tighe (Thailand 1986-88; PC/HQ 1995-2000) is now CEO of Direct Relief International, biggest medical supplier to Haiti (directrelief.org): As quoted in Politico Playbook this morning: “One year ago tomorrow [Jan. 12] in Haiti — a country the size of Maryland — more people died in a matter of minutes from the earthquake than have been killed by all the natural disasters in the history of the United States. The scale of human tragedy caused by Haiti’s earthquake defies comprehension: 230,000 people killed, 1.3 million people displaced, and 194,000 injured. Those who survive now carry the hope and challenge of rebuilding a country. Of course help is still needed to get through and get better. The health challenges alone are steep and threatening, from the systemic level all the way down to very basic access to things like a health professional, medicines, IV solutions, and even soap. Long after the headlines . . .

David Brooks Column Quotes Peace Corps Doctor

Jan 11 2011

A New York Times op-ed column this morning (Tuesday, January 11, 2011) by David Brooks entitled “The Politicized Mind” focuses on Jared Loughner and the shooting rampage in Tucson and quotes from a book by Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, a research psychiatrist, who wrote (among other books) The Insanity Offense. Torrey was a Peace Corps doctor (Ethiopia 1964-66) and is married to an RPCV, Barbara Boyle (Tanzania 1963-65). The Brooks column is generating a lot of ‘heat’ for statements such as “..the political opportunism occasioned by this tragedy has ranged from the completely irrelevant to the shame irresponsible” and slamming such noted liberals as Gary Hart, Keith Olbermann, Daily Kos, and the Huffington Post. Torry’s book is the calm center of today’s op-ed piece. Quoting from it, Brooks uses Torry’s research to show that about 1 percent of the seriously mentally ill (or about 40,000 individuals) are violent. They account for about half the . . .

Archive - January 11, 2011