Book Reviews

A look at books published by fellow RPCVs that hopefully you will want to read.

1
Review: The Village, by Bill Owens (Jamaica 1964-66)
2
Book Review: Head Strong, by Christy Bailey (Honduras 2002-04)
3
Book Review: London, by Taylor Dibbert (Guatemala, 2006-08)
4
SALAMANDER MAN, BY JAMES A. WOLTER ‧ REVIEWED BY EPHANTUS MURIUKI
5
The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue, by Mike Tidwell (Zaire 1985-87)
6
Before Before: A Story of Discovery and Loss in Sierra Leone by Betsy Small
7
A Cup of Stars, Stories by Joseph Monninger (Burkina Faso 1975-77)
8
Ah, Where the Light Shines Through, by Patricia Waak (Brazil 1966-68)
9
Book Review: The Vanishing Point: Stories by Paul Theroux (Malawi 1963-1965)
10
Neighbors: Oral History From Madera California Vol. 4 by Lawrence F. Lihosit (Honduras 1975-1977)
11
Book Review: Carnival in Rio, by Steve Kaffen (Reviewed by N. Waheed Nasser)
12
Book Review | Other Rivers: A Chinese Education, by Peter Hessler
13
Review | AFRICA OPENED MY HEART by Julia Dreyer Wang (Benin)
14
OTHER RIVERS by Peter Hessler (China)
15
Review | Patrick Shea’s PEACE CORPS VICTIM: A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER STORY OF TRAUMA AND BETRAYAL

Review: The Village, by Bill Owens (Jamaica 1964-66)

Neiger Green-Patrick (Haiti, 2005) reviews Bill Owens’s The Village. This photography book is available on Amazon and Bookshop.org. Title: The Village Author: Bill Owens Published: January 25, 2014 (True North Editions) Review by Neiger Green-Patrick (Haiti, 2005) Before diving into this review, I must preface it by sharing that I am a student of documentary photography. My Peace Corps service in Haiti was made more dynamic by the presence of my Nikon 35mm. The way my community was drawn to the lens opened a view of Haiti that felt nothing short of magical. In The Village, Bill Owens elevates the everyday with a narrative and aesthetic sensibility that’s graceful. Moving beyond the conventional portrayals of Jamaica—lush greenery, crystal clear waters, and unapologetic use of color—Owens captures the daily rhythms of Central Village and the life of the communities that most visitors might not see. Through the intimacy of service and proximity, he offers viewers a more grounded, deeply . . .

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Book Review: Head Strong, by Christy Bailey (Honduras 2002-04)

Robert Thurston (Venezuela, 1968-70) reviews Christy Bailey’s Head Strong. This memoir, published posthumously, is available on Amazon. Title: Head Strong: Embracing Alopecia and Becoming Pañuelo Girl Author: Christy Bailey / Editor: Susana Donato Published: April 27, 2025 (Kindle Direct Publishing) Review by Robert Thurston (RPCV Venezuela, 1968-70; PC Staff, 1972-77) When I was asked to review Head Strong: Embracing Alopecia and Becoming Pañuelo Girl by Christy Bailey, I thought there must have been a mistake, as I had agreed to review works of fiction that draw on Peace Corps experiences. Bailey’s superbly written memoir of her life-long personal struggle with alopecia and the transformational challenges she experienced as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras had me questioning how I could do justice to her powerful account. Sure, I’d managed Peace Corps programs in Honduras, but I worked with forestry and agriculture volunteers, almost all of whom were young men working in a stereotypically macho work world and society. . . .

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Book Review: London, by Taylor Dibbert (Guatemala, 2006-08)

Bill Preston (Thailand, 1977-80) reviews Taylor Dibbert’s London. This book of poetry is available on Amazon. Title: London Author: Taylor Dibbert Published: March 1, 2024 (Alien Buddha Press Review by Bill Preston (Thailand, 1977-80) Anyone who has lost a beloved pet can relate to the pain and emptiness that accompany such loss. The grieving process, immediate, intense, often overwhelming, continues to ebb and flow, triggered by memories, dreams, and past associations. It’s been said that though we may never completely get over a deep personal loss, we can–in time, and with support–get through it. London is poet Taylor Dibbert’s collection of linked poems addressing the death of his eponymous canine companion. It is a chronicle of grieving, a meditation on navigating loss—in his words, through heartbreak, resilience, and enduring love. Early in the collection, Dibbert’s poems confront the immediate pain. In Angel Wings, a particularly poignant flashback, he describes London’s last moments. (All excerpts presented in italics.) . . .

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SALAMANDER MAN, BY JAMES A. WOLTER ‧ REVIEWED BY EPHANTUS MURIUKI

Salamander Man by James A. Wolter is an emotionally charged coming-of-age tale about a boy whose social inclusion, acceptance, confidence, and self-worth are jeopardized by a sickness that leaves him unable to use his legs. Mohamed Idris bin Mohamed Ibrahim was born strong and healthy until the age of four, when he contracted polio, which he dubs the “evil eye.” At this point, his legs became “useless twisted stumps,” which earned him the scorn of his peers and the nickname “Salamander Man.” He would further develop a biting obsession with finding ways to outdo other boys to “feel like a king” time and again. None, however, could be sustained. At the age of six, his desire to attend Tengku Bariah Primary School was quashed by a headmaster who warned his father that the school was not for “his kind.” This not only gravely crushed his spirits, but also drove the . . .

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The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue, by Mike Tidwell (Zaire 1985-87)

Title: The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue Author: Mike Tidwell (Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo, 1985-87) Publisher: St. Martin’s Press; March 25, 2025 Number of pages: 288 Available on Amazon, Bookshop, Goodreads, Thriftbooks, and more Reviewer’s name: Ben East (Malawi 1996-98) Reading The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue feels like strolling the hometown with an affable neighbor, one filled with deep respect for the natural world and a pragmatic concern for its demise. Along the way we meet other neighbors, including state and national political figures; students, scientists, arborists, and public works personnel; a farmer, a midwife, the local pastor. Despite dire news regarding humanity’s relationship with nature, the company makes for an exceptional walk. On one level Mike Tidwell recounts a single year—2023—in a Washington, DC suburb whose residents cope with the local effects of global climate change. These are the tombstone stumps of new-fallen trees, the sudden gaps in rich canopy across which the . . .

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Before Before: A Story of Discovery and Loss in Sierra Leone by Betsy Small

A debut author blends autobiography and ethnography in this exploration of Sierra Leone in the 1980s. The recent history of Sierra Leone is one often associated with violence, disease, and tragedy. From the decade-long Blood Diamond War of the 1990s through the Ebola outbreak of the 2010s that killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, the West African nation has been the epicenter of human rights crises for the past 30 years. In this book, Small not only encourages readers to place those tragedies within a larger post-colonial context, but also highlights a vibrant history of the nation from a grassroots perspective in the decade that predated the violence of the ’90s. A Peace Corps volunteer who was born only a year after Sierra Leone became an independent country in 1961, the author spent three years in Tokpombu, a village located 250 miles from the nation’s Atlantic coast (“Here I . . .

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A Cup of Stars, Stories by Joseph Monninger (Burkina Faso 1975-77)

A Cup of Stars, Stories by Joseph Monninger (Burkina-Faso 1975-77) Available on Amazon ($10.99); 458 pages; ISBN 979-8649356534 Reviewed by Eugénie de Rosier (Philippines 2006-08) A Cup of Stars, Stories by Joseph Monniger, invites through oral lore and historic anecdotes and contemporary writing in this long book. Two fantasies about supernatural women—are re-spun tales inspired by an Irish myth and an Arctic fable. Kathleen’s Celtic spirit entangles with an injured WWI soldier healing in rural Maine. He walks across the state to claim and rebuild an inheritance, a ramshackle farm, and his life takes on paranormal shifts. Sedna, hemmed in by patriarchy, is forced into a bad marriage to a brutish “evil witch-man,” who changed shapes. Inspired by Inuit folklore, she flees her husband across a lifetime and around the globe, adopting metaphysical abilities to breathe in water, take to winged flight, and gallop with herds, until she confronts him for his cruelty. . . .

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Ah, Where the Light Shines Through, by Patricia Waak (Brazil 1966-68)

Review This self- published book of poetry by former Peace Corps Volunteer, Patricia Waak, will appeal to those who wish to commune with nature through words. It begins with the hope of changing seasons and ends with thoughts on growing old. The author, in lyrical phrasing, writes about the weather, plants, insects, and wildlife of the countryside of Colorado, where she is content in her natural world. Many of the 68 poems depict weather in changing seasons, and how light, wind, and snow affect the author’s spirit. “Crystal” is used frequently and found in trees, grass, and clouds. Besides insects such as moths and dragonflies, animals like coyotes, dogs, birds, chickens, and a lizard appear sometimes in rhyme, sometimes not. The most memorable and relatable pieces are about the inevitability of aging. This work is recommended for city-dwellers who long to recall the natural world of wide-open spaces, and for . . .

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Book Review: The Vanishing Point: Stories by Paul Theroux (Malawi 1963-1965)

I’ve read and reviewed the last seven books from 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 56 books overall. He’s also a prolific essay writer who published Figures in a Landscape in 2018. Figures in a Landscape was his third volume of essays, following Sunrise with Seamonsters (1984) and Fresh Air Fiend (2001) for 134 essays written over . . .

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Neighbors: Oral History From Madera California Vol. 4 by Lawrence F. Lihosit (Honduras 1975-1977)

This book is about two generations of Peace Corps Volunteers and their writing. Over the years, I’ve read and reviewed several of the 20 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 first book, 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. They seem to speak directly to us, seated at our kitchen table, waving their arms while laughing. This book is a must-read for those interested in the California Central Valley.” I was pleased to read . . .

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Book Review: Carnival in Rio, by Steve Kaffen (Reviewed by N. Waheed Nasser)

If there’s one word that describes Steve Kaffen’s latest book, Carnival in Rio, it’s “joyous.” Using narrative, stories, and striking photography, he presents what he calls “one of the world’s great spectacles” including its samba parades, street parties, championship soccer, and local color. He adds excursions along the coast and a journey into the Amazon rainforest, plus a section to help readers plan their Carnival visits. The coverage is complete due to his timing. He arrives a week early and observes the start-up excitement. “Carnival is a time when positive emotions dwarf life’s frustrations…. Everyone sports a costume, even if it’s a cute crown or an outrageous hat or shirt or, popular with children, sneakers flashing multi-colored lights.” He remains past the end and describes city life reverting to normal. He stays in three interesting areas: Copacabana, Ipanema, and Botafogo. Copacabana, he says, is famous for its beach and for . . .

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Book Review | Other Rivers: A Chinese Education, by Peter Hessler

Other Rivers: A Chinese Education by Peter Hessler Penguin Press (July 9, 2024); 464 pages Available on Amazon – $19.21 (Hardcover) or $14.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Clifford Garstang (Korea, 1976-77) I have been an admirer of Peter Hessler’s work since reading his first book, River Town, about his Peace Corps service at a Chinese university in the 1990s. I was particularly drawn to that book because of my own Peace Corps work in a Korean university twenty years earlier and also because my eventual professional life took me to China frequently. Hessler wrote eloquently about his Peace Corps experience in a way that I think any RPCV could relate to. Hessler’s subsequent books about China, Oracle Bones and Country Driving, written while he was a journalist in Beijing, were fascinating accounts of other aspects of life in China, in which Hessler himself was a prominent character. All three of the . . .

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Review | AFRICA OPENED MY HEART by Julia Dreyer Wang (Benin)

  Africa Opened My Heart: A Memoir Julia Dreyer Wang (Benin 2012-14) Native Book Publishing August 2024 341 pages $19.99 (paperback), $3o.00 (Hardcover), $4.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Karen Chaffraix Waller (Senegal, Agroforestry, 2012- 14)  . . . In Africa Opened My Heart Julie Wang takes the reader on a journey into deepest Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer. But unlike most of us who engage in this two-year mission, she fell in love with a native and put down roots on the continent. She built a family and a house and a thriving foundation that continues to change lives. She is now in her 70’s, white, monied, and brave. Wang’s story is woven with insights and confessions. She tells us why she went and why she stays, all the while illuminating the malevolency of the world’s black/white divide with its inherent contradictions and evils. She illustrates the discernable difference between . . .

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OTHER RIVERS by Peter Hessler (China)

Review — Other Rivers – spotlight on Generation Xi An American’s view of life in China during the tumultuous Covid years Reviewed by Amy Hawkins The Guardian 21 Aug 2024    When Peter Hessler (China 1996-98), the celebrated chronicler of Chinese society, arrived at Sichuan University in the autumn of 2019, he was expecting to take a break from writing. Hessler made his name as a journalist documenting the lives of everyday people during China’s boom years in the early 2000s. But he first got to know the country as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Sichuan in the mid-1990s – an experience that formed the basis of his first book, River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, a bestseller that introduced a generation of readers to a rapidly changing China. Nearly a quarter of a century on, he had planned to focus his energies on teaching. But events were about . . .

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Review | Patrick Shea’s PEACE CORPS VICTIM: A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER STORY OF TRAUMA AND BETRAYAL

    Peace Corps Victim: A Peace Corps Volunteer Story of Trauma and Betrayal Patrick Shea (Georgia 2016-17 —  Medically Separated) Friesen Press 258 pages $21.99 (Paperback); $ 9.99 (Kindle); $35.99 (Hardcover) by Andy Martin (Ethiopia 1965-68) . . .   Patrick Shea had a terrible time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Georgia, and he wants the world to know it. To get his message out, he has self-published a book called, Peace Corps Victim, subtitled, a Peace Corps Volunteer Story of Trauma and Betrayal. In addition, Shea has added the initials RPCV after his name. In the Forward, he excuses the many typos and grammatical errors throughout the book, by stating that he wrote it during the COVID-19 years and that he wanted to have it published as soon as possible because of what he feels is the book’s importance. He has spent thousands of his own . . .

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