Book Reviews – Peace Corps Worldwide

Review | GOATS: AND OTHER STORIES by Martin Ganzglass (Somalia)

Apr 30 2023

Goats: And Other Stories Martin R. Ganzglass (Somalia 1966–68) Peace Corps Writers 2021 305 pages $10.00 (paperback) Reviewed by Regina DeAngelo (Ghana 2000-2002) • At age 76, Allison Murphy has found herself widowed and living at a home for retired military personnel in a suburb near Washington. In addition to the usual nuisances of aging, Allie has recently taken a fall on a throw rug. This placed her square in the crosshairs of the administration, who are monitoring her from the newly installed security cameras, as well as through the eyes of the smiley guard at reception, in case she takes another tumble. Then there’s her nemesis, Sergeant Trottman, who’d like to see her and her attitude assigned to the Memory Ward. Amid the mini dramas of life in a retirement home, Allie’s own story unfolds. Fifty years ago, we learn, Allie was flying fighter planes: “nimble P-51s and . . .

Review | Finding Kony by Robert E. Gribbin (Kenya)

Apr 24 2023

Finding Kony by Robert E. Gribbin Self Published 248 pages November 2o22 $3.99 (Kindle); $15.99 (Paperback) Reviewed by Alan G. Johnston (Kenya 1968-70) Note: Both Robert Gribbin and Alan Johnston were in the Peace Corps group that arrived in Kenya in October 1968. They both spent many years in Africa. • On March 5, 2012 a U.S.-based NGO, Invisible Children, Inc., released a short documentary film called Kony 2012. The intent of the film, meant for world-wide distribution, was to make the infamous Ugandan warlord, Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), so famous that he couldn’t hide. The goal was to have him arrested and brought to justice by the end of 2012. The film quickly went viral, garnering more than 100 million views and becoming the most “liked” video on YouTube. The film highlights the announcement by Barack Obama in October 2011 that the U.S. . . .

Review | SORRY, NO ENGLISH by Craig Storti (Morocco)

Feb 11 2023

Sorry, No English: 50 Tips to Improve your Communication with Speakers of Limited English Craig Storti (Morocco 1970-72) Chambers Publisher October 2022 189 pages $5.94 (Kindle); $12.60 (Paperback) Reviewed bu D.W. Jefferson (El Salvador 74-76) and Costa Rica 76-77). • What a shame this book didn’t exist when I was trying to help my wife learn English years ago. Craig Storti has been writing about intercultural communications for over 30 years and has published a number of useful books, but for everyone who needs to interact with speakers of limited English, this is the indispensable handbook we have been waiting for. The book will be useful to anyone working in a public-facing job from government to hospitality, international organizations, human resources, cross-cultural and diversity training, and teaching English as a second language. Also, those who simply have an interest in languages, cultures and communication will love this book. I . . .

Review | GROWING MANGOS IN THE DESERT by Katherine Baird (Mauritania)

Jan 16 2023

Growing Mangos in the Desert: A Memoir of Life in a Mauritanian Village by Katherine Baird (Mauritania 1984–86) Apprentice House Press 2022 380 pages $19.99 (paperback), $32.99 (hard cover), $6.49 (Kindle) Reviewed by Lucinda Wingard (Nigeria 1966 – 68) • Among more than two dozen young volunteers trained for agricultural service in Mauritania in 1984, Katherine Baird was one of ten remaining by her second year. She had survived the rigors of wielding her short-handled hoe in blistering heat, had adapted to eating meals from a common bowl with her neighbors, and had successfully threaded through baffling local hierarchies. Mauritania needed Peace Corps to help staff a fledgling initiative funded with foreign money: growing rice along a desolate part of the Senegal River. Baird brought no experience to help her fulfill this work, but her diligent note-taking and detailed records show she pitched into her assignment with a will. “Keyti” . . .

Review | DEEP SOUTH by Paul Theroux (Malawi)

Jan 16 2023

Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads Paul Theroux (Malawi 1963–65) Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 485 pages $9.40 (Kindle), $34.74 (hard cover), $9.89 (paperback) Reviewed by Mark Walker (Guatemala 1971-73) • I’ve read and reviewed the last eight books by the “Dean of Travel Writing” — Paul Theroux. I wrote my latest book, My Saddest Pleasures: 50 Years on the Road, in honor and appreciation of Theroux, and another travel writer, “who personally knew and was inspired by Moritz Thomsen and passed their enthusiasm on to me.” Thomsen wrote the Peace Corps experience classic,Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle. Theroux’s book, The Tao of Travel, celebrates 50 years of travel writing and inspired my series, “The Yin & Yang of Travel.” Theroux is probably the most prolific of the Returned Peace Corps writers, with 33 works in fiction and 53 books overall. He describes his passion for long “road trips” as follows, “My experience of . . .

Review — WHILE I WAS OUT by Jerry Redfield (Ecuador)

Nov 07 2022

While I Was Out: Two Years That Changed America — A Peace Corps Memoir by Jerry Redfield (Ecuador 1963-65) Peace Corps Writers Imprint 292 pages July 2022 $22.00 (paperback) Reviewed by Cynthia Nelson Mosca (Ethiopia 1967-69) • Shortly before “Hell no, we won’t go!” there was the Peace Corps. While I Was Out by Jerry Redfield, takes place during the years 1963 to 1965. Early years for the Peace Corps, turbulent years for our country. This book is a real story taken from the author’s journals and letters home. Our hero, Jerry, vacillates between confusion, frustration, and impatience. Will he be able to put aside his attitude toward time? Will he fall in love? Will he develop long term friendships? And ultimately will he fall in love with the people of Ecuador? In the ’60s we were nothing if not assured. Half of the youth of our country was absolutely certain . . .

Review — THE DELCO YEARS by Bill Owens (Jamaica)

Nov 03 2022

The Delco Years: A Dystopian Novel Bill Owens (Jamaica 1964–66), Francesca Cosanti (Illustrator) Delco Years Publishing April 2022 $32.85 (paperback), $42.58 (hardcover) Reviewed by D.W. Jefferson (El Salvador 1974-76) & Costa Rica 1976-77) • This is an interactive graphic novel by Bill Owens. The author claims to be channeling Ned Buntline, the narrator of the story. The many great illustrations are the work of Francesca Cosanti. According to Buntline: “’The Delco Years’ was written in 1999 and put away for 21 years. Then in the Fall of 2020, for some unknown reason (COVID-19), I started re-writing and added illustrations.” Due to the accidental release of a weaponized strain of anthrax, the human population of the world has been nearly wiped out. The only people who survived were drinkers of unpasteurized craft beer. The two major themes of the novel are, the series of events leading to the apocalypse, and the . . .

Review — GOD HOLDS YOU by Sarah S. Scherschligt (Malawi)

Nov 01 2022

God Holds You by Sarah S. Scherschligt (Malawi 1996-98) Independently published October 2022 357 pages $17.99 (Paperback) Reviewed by Ben East (Malawi 1996-98) • Sarah S. Scherschligt is the Pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Originally from Minnesota, she lives near Washington, D.C. with her husband and two daughters. She studied at Valparaiso University, Yale Divinity School, and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. Prior to becoming a pastor, she served in the U.S. Peace Corps (Malawi 1996-98) and worked for Augsburg College’s Center for Global Education & had experience in both Minnesota and Namibia. She is an environmental activist and amateur potter. Her writing has appeared in The Christian Century, The Presbyterian Outlook, BoldCafe, and The Washington Post. God Holds You offers a chronicle of hope. As we entered the pandemic wilderness in March 2020, progressive Lutheran pastor Sarah Scherschligt began publishing daily reflections about adapting to the . . .

Review — THOSE WHO ARE GONE by Lawrence F. Lihosit (Honduras)

Oct 30 2022

Those Who are Gone by Lawrence F. Lihosit (Honduras 1975-77) Independently published September 2022 118 pages $13.00 (Paperback) Reviewed by Mark D. Walker (Guatemala 1971-73) • Over the years, I’ve read and reviewed several of the eighteen books of fellow author and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer “Lorenzo” Lihosit. He was a volunteer in Honduras and married a lady from Mexico, and I was a volunteer in Guatemala and married a señorita from there. I used his Peace Corps Experience: Write & Publish Your Memoir to write my own, Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond, proofed his Oral History from Madera, California, and agreed with the Madera Tribune, “The best of its kind in print. Like Volume 1, the author offers real-life stories by citizens of Madera, California. It seems like they speak directly to us, seated at our kitchen table, waving their arms while . . .

Review — THE LAST OF HIS MIND by John Thorndike (El Salvador)

Oct 18 2022

The Last of His Mind: A Year In The Shadow Of Alzheimer’s by John Thorndike (El Salvador 1966-68) Swallow Press 264 pages $18.82 (paperback), $27.94 (hardcover), $7.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by: D.W. Jefferson (El Salvador 1974–76; Costa Rica 1976–77) • This is a moving story of a son’s devotion to his dying father who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. His determination to help his father fulfill his desire to die at home is admirable. Of interest as well is the author’s recounting of the details of how he arranged for others, including his two brothers, to spell him, giving him needed breaks from his around the clock care for his father. Beyond being a memoir of spending his father’s last year caring for him, the book also covers much of the elder Thorndike’s professional life, marriage, and personal life. It also discusses the author’s raising of his son as a single parent. One . . .

Review — THE BAD ANGEL BROTHERS by Paul Theroux (Malawi)

Oct 03 2022

The Bad Angel Brothers by Paul Theroux (Malawi 1963-65)) ‎Mariner Books Publisher ‎352 pages September 2022 $14.99 (Kindle); $26.09 (Hardcover), $22.35 or 1 credit (Audiobook) Reviewed by Mark D. Walker (Guatemala 1971-73) • Paul Theroux (Malawi 1963-65) is probably the most prolific of the Returned Peace Corps writers, with 33 works in fiction and 53 books overall. As with his latest book, I wasn’t enthusiastic about reading it, as I prefer his nonfiction travel stories. But just as was the case reading the life of the aging surfer in Hawaii in Under the Wave of Waimae (2021), he does a stellar job developing the characters in this psychological thriller. This most recent book is a classic tale of a dysfunctional family. A younger brother’s rivalry with his older brother, Frank, a domineering brother and a well-known lawyer in their small community in Massachusetts. Frank also has a propensity to come up with . . .

Review — A FIVE FINGER FEAST by Tim Suchsland (Kazakhstan)

Sep 07 2022

A Five Finger Feast: Two Years in Kazakhstan, Lessons from the Peace Corps by Tim Suchsland (Kazakhstan 2007–09), author and illustrator Peace Corps Writers, May 2022 395 pages $19.99 (paperback) Reviewed by Philip Montgomery (Kazakhstan 2007–09) • Travel is one of the greatest educators in life. Even more educational — worldview shaping even — is living in a country that is not your own, understanding what it means to be the outsider, the guest, the stranger. In this sense, all travel is not equal. Some journeys break up the monotony of everyday life, while others leave immense, immeasurable impacts on the sojourner, the kinds of experience that shape us more completely. Tim Suchsland’s A Five Finger Feast is an account of one such journey. In this memoir, Suchsland takes the reader along with him through his 2-year adventure of travel, growth, and discovery. Rather than presenting a superficial touristy version . . .

Review — A FIVE FINGER FEAST by Tim Suchsland (Kazakhstan)

Aug 28 2022

A Five Finger Feast: Two Years in Kazakhstan, Lessons from the Peace Corps by Tim Suchsland (Kazakhstan 2007–09), author and illustrator Peace Corps Writers, May 2022 395 pages $19.99 (paperback) Reviewed by John Chromey (India 1963–65); (PC CD/Eastern Caribbean (1977–79); (Assoc Dir-PC/Washington 1979–1981) • Tim Suchsland, a teacher and artist, takes the reader on a very interesting journey into a vast corner of the world that none of us has ever seen, of which we know virtually nothing, which borders on Russia’s infamous Siberia and yet is populated with very interesting people — Kazaks from many tribes, Armenians, Volga Germans and Russians — each with a story of how their people came to be in the village of Valenka, twenty miles from the Russian border and 840 miles (22 hours by road) from the Kazakh capitol, Almaty. Any of us who served in the Peace Corps in the 1960s, ’70s . . .

Review — THE GECKO IN THE BATHTUB by Janina Fuller (Philippines)

Aug 17 2022

The Gecko in the Bathtub: Encounters with Marvelous Creatures by Janina Marie Fuller (Philippines 1978-80) with illustrations by Maggie Demorest Peace Corps Writers June 2022 178 pages $17.50 (paperback) Reviewed by Andy Amster (Philippines 1978-80) • The Gecko in the Bathtub, Janina Fuller’s collection of stories about her interactions with a wide variety of animals, in settings both mundane and exotic, is subtitled Encounters with Marvelous Creatures. And I must say that while reading these stories, I came to realize that I was having an encounter with a marvelous writer, one whose love of nature and respect for its ecosystems and their inhabitants artfully enlists the reader into “allyship” in that love and respect. From the moment I glanced at the “Table of Contents” before settling down to read this wonderful book, I knew I was putting myself in the hands of an assured and engaging writer. “So Much Alaska,” “Visit from . . .

Review — THE COLOR OF THE ELEPHANT by Christine Herbert (Zambia)

Aug 15 2022

The Color of the Elephant: Memoir of a Muzungu Christine Herbert (Zambia 2004–06) GenZ Publishing January 2022 $15.99 (paperback), $5.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Rebecca M. Zornow (eSwatini 2011–13) • I visited the landlocked country of Zambia from the landlocked country of eSwatini, practically neighbors. As a Peace Corps Volunteer on leave, I wished for more than the cursory understanding of Zambian culture, even more than the quick mist of the thunderous Victoria Falls. But as a Volunteer from another country with much to see, I wouldn’t get that chance until reading Christine Herbert’s memoir, The Color of the Elephant. Christine arrives in Zambia in 2004 and quickly learns to eat nshima (cornmeal porridge) and wear citenge (sarong) but wonders throughout training if she’ll be enough to live up to the experience of two years making a difference in the remote countryside. On a trainee outing with an established Volunteer, Christine wonders, . . .