September 4, 2019 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Review — THE BILOXI CONNECTION by David Mather (Chile)

Sep 04 2019

The Biloxi Connection by David Mather (Chile 1968–70) Peace Corps Writers June 2019 387 pages $14.95 (paperback) Review by D.W. Jefferson • 374 pages, 37 short chapters plus a Prologue and an Epilogue, The Biloxi Connection is another opportunity to enjoy David Mather’s unforgettable characters from Florida’s rural Big Bend region on the gulf coast, also known as the Redneck Riviera. This is another page-turner, leaving you wondering where the time went after spending a couple hours immersed in the story. And the chapters are short enough that you feel like you could read just one more! I strongly recommend that you read the whole three book series starting with Crescent Beach, followed by Raw Dawgin’and finally this volume. But this well-written novel also stands on its own very well. Rusty, the now retired state trooper, plays a major role. In this book he goes after the hired assassin that . . .

Review — BREAKING KOLA: An Inside View of African Customs by Katherine Onyemelukwe (Nigeria)

Sep 04 2019

Breaking Kola: An Inside View of African Customs Katherine Onyemelukwe (Nigeria 1962–64) Peace Corps Writers November 2018 251 pages $14.62 (paperback); $9.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Tom Hebert (Nigeria 1962-64) • Like military veterans, Peace Corps Volunteers never put their stories and accomplishments behind them. As we say, “Once a Peace Corps Volunteer, always a Peace Corps Volunteer.” But very few of us have been as totally immersed in a new culture as the author of this intense but bright and sunny book. Having taught cross cultural communication at the State Department, I knew this author wrote truthfully when I read these words on page 16: “Breaking Kola is my attempt to explain African, especially Igbo customs that that build this deep sense of community.” I mention that because for over 58 years more than 235,000 Americans have served in 141 countries. And, when they return to this country, . . .

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