Archive - May 5, 2014

Posted in Paraguay is not the usual Peace Corps book — a first time voyage of discovery — because Eloise and Chuck Hanner had done it all before — twenty-five years before. That was back in 1971 when they left, newly married and newly graduated, for a Peace Corps assignment in Afghanistan. It had been a terrific experience and they swore at the time they would do it again — maybe when they were old and retired. But when they turned fifty (not old or retired) they found themselves bored with their stock-brokerage careers and in need of a new direction. Despite admonitions from Thomas Wolfe, who warned “you can’t go home again,” they decided to join the Peace Corps once more. Although this time they wanted to serve in a Spanish speaking country, and a way to use their business background. The Peace Corps recruiter had just the ticket: . . .

Hunger and Hope by George W. Norton (Colombia 1971–73) Waveland Press, Inc. 179 pages $18.95 (paperback), $9.99 (Kindle) 2014 Reviewed by Ronald A Schwarz (Colombia 1961–63) In 1961 Sargent Shriver relentlessly cornered members of Congress to establish the Peace Corps. His assets were vision, passion, charm and chutzpah. If he returned to the agency today, he would have other tools in his box. One of the most useful would be Hunger and Hope by George W. Norton. In the early 1970s, George and his wife Marj were volunteers with the Coffee Federation in Colombia. Later he earned a doctorate in Agricultural Economics and began his career as a professor, international consultant and author (his list of scientific publications covers 20 pages). Hunger and Hope addresses the complex factors related to poverty, hunger and agricultural development in a readable and deeply personal manner.  Anecdotes drawn from Norton’s Peace Corps years complement . . .