10 New books by Peace Corps writers: May–June 2021

To purchase any of these books from Amazon.com — CLICK on the book cover, the bold book title, or the publishing format you would like — and Peace Corps Worldwide, an Amazon Associate, will receive a small remittance from your purchase that will help support the site and the annual Peace Corps Writers awards.

We now include a one-sentence description  for the books listed here in hopes of encouraging readers  1) to order a book and 2) to VOLUNTEER TO REVIEW IT. See a book you’d like to review for Peace Corps Worldwide? Send a note to Marian at marian@haleybeil.com, and we’ll send you a copy along with a few instructions.

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Life as a Peace Corps Volunteer Ethiopia and Eritrea, 1972-74
Michael Banister (Ethiopia 1972-74)
Self Published
149 pages
May 2021
$4.99 (Kindle); $7.99 (Paperback)

A collection of aerogrammes, letters and memoirs by Michael Banister about his Peace Corps experience in Ethiopia and Eritrea in 1972-74.

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Riverblindness in Africa: Taming the Lion’s Stare
Bruce  Benton (Guinea 1964–66)
Johns Hopkins University Press
December 2020
312 pages
$49.95 (hardcover), $37.49 (Kindle)

The remarkable story of how a large public-private partnership worked to control and defeat riverblindness — a scourge which had devastated rural communities and impeded socioeconomic development throughout much of Sub-Saharan Africa for generations.

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Dreams of Italy
Leita Bevacqua Davis (Senegal 1993–96)
Peace Corps Writers
April, 2021
130 pages
$15.00 (paperback)

A family memoir. The author follows her dream of traveling to Calabria in the toe of Italy to find decendents of her family who had left there at the turn of the twentieth century to survive in the new world.

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Profiles in Achievement: the Gifts, Quirks and Foibles of Ohio’s Best Politicians
William Hershey (Ethiopia 1968-1970)
University of Akron Press
May 2021
255 pages
$24.95 (paperback),   (ebook)

This collection of profiles highlights the careers of Oho political trailblazers and high achievers covering nearly a century — from Republication Ray Bliss’ humble start as an errand boy in Akron’s 1931 mayoral race to Democratic US Senator Sherrod Brown and Republican Governor Mike DeWine today.

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Rwanda and the Mountain Gorillas
Steve  Kaffen (Russia 1994-96)
Independently published
May 2021
$3.99 (Kindle)

A descriptive narrative with over 150 original photos of Rwanda’s landscapes, lifestyles, cultures, and up-close wildlife encounters.

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This Country: My Life in Politics and History
Chris Mathews (Swaziland 1968-70)
Simon & Schuster
352 pages
June 2021
$14.99 (Kindle); $20.29 (Hardcover); $6.95 (Autobook); $29.99 (Auto-CD)

In This Country, Chris Matthews offers a panoramic portrait of post–World War II America through the story of his remarkable life and career. It is a story of risk and adventure, of self-reliance and service, of loyalty and friendship. 

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Bill Owens: The Legacy Of Suburbia: Photographs 1964-2020
Bill Owens (Jamaica 1964–65)
True North Editions
326 pages
2021
$400.00 (hardcover, Limited Edition book comes with a signed print)

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Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal
George Packer (Togo 1982-83)
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
240 pages
June 2021
$13.99(Kindle);$22.99(Hardcover);$6.95 (Audiobook), $13.99 (Audio CD)

In the year 2020, Americans suffered one rude blow after another to their health, livelihoods, and collective self-esteem. In Last Best Hope, George Packer traces the shocks back to their sources. He explores the four narratives that now dominate American life.

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Afghanistan at a Time of Peace
Robin  Varnum (Afghanistan 1971–73), Photographer: Juris Zagarins (Afghanistan, 1971-1974)
Peace Corps Writers
201 pages
June 2021
$25.00 (paperback), $10.00 (Kindle)

Although Afghanistan has now endured more than forty years of continuous warfare, when Robin Varnum served there as a Peace Corps volunteer in the early 1970s, the country was enjoying an interlude of peace that, Varnum hopes, will someday be restored.

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What’s Your Formula?: Combine Learning Elements for Impactful Training
Brian Washburn (Paraguay 1998-2000)
Publisher: Association for Talent Development
248 pages
June 2021
$29.99 (Kindle); $29.99 (paperback)

How does a trainer find the right combination and proportion of science and art,? How does a trainer know what’s possible?

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