Book Reviews

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

1
Review | AFGHANISTAN: CROSSROADS AND KINGDOMS by Guy Toby Marion
2
Review | THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE by Clifford Garstang (Korea)
3
Review | FINDING MISS FONG by James A. Wolter (Malaya)
4
Review | THE MYSTICAL LAND OF MYRRH by MaryAnn Shank (Somalia)
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Review | GROWING MANGOS IN THE DESERT by Katherine Baird (Mauritania)
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Review | THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE by Clifford Garstang (Korea)
7
Review | IF YOU TURN TO LOOK BACK by Tom Hazuka (Chile)
8
REVIEW | HUSTLE: THE MAKING OF A FREELANCE WRITER by Lawrence Grobel (Ghana)
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Review | ST. PETERSBURG BAY BLUES by Douglas Buchacek (Russia)
10
DARK STAR SAFARI by Paul Theroux (Malawi)
11
Review | A JOURNEY FOR PEACE: A JOURNAL OF PEACE by Donald Yates (The Philippines)
12
Review — “LOOK HERE, SIR, WHAT A CURIOUS BIRD” by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski (Malaysia)
13
Review — THE SHOWGIRL AND THE WRITER by Marnie Mueller (Ecuador)
14
Review | THE 2022 WORLD CUP IN QATAR by Steve Kaffen (Russia)
15
Review — THE SHOWGIRL AND THE WRITER by Marnie Mueller (Ecuador)

Review | AFGHANISTAN: CROSSROADS AND KINGDOMS by Guy Toby Marion

  Afghanistan: Crossroads and Kingdoms — My 1970s Peace Corps Service and Recent Afghan History by Guy Toby Marion (Afghanistan 1971-75) Peace Corps Books January 2024 280 pages $21.95 (Paperback); $8.95 (Kindle) Reviewed by Robin Varnum (Afghanistan 1971-73)  • • •  In 1974, after serving for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan, Guy Toby Marion (known to his friends as Toby), returned to New York on home leave and was greeted by a family friend, who said, “welcome to civilization.” Toby smiled politely, but he thought privately that, “despite its poverty, Afghanistan was cultured and civilized.” Toby’s Afghanistan: Crossroads and Kingdoms (Peace Corps Writers, 2024) displays its author’s deep appreciation of Afghanistan’s culture, Islamic religion, poetry, and history. Sadly, that history has often been violent, since as Toby points out, “from ancient times Afghanistan has been an historical crossroads, seeing many wars and changes of empire.” When Toby arrived . . .

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Review | THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE by Clifford Garstang (Korea)

  The Last Bird of Paradise by Clifford Garstang (Korea 1976-77) Black Rose Writing 340 pages February 2024 $6.99 (Kindle) $23.95 (paperback) Reviewed by Bill Preston (Thailand 1977-80)  • • •  Reading the Author’s Note following this remarkable novel, I was struck by several ways Clifford Garstang’s experience has resembled mine. He first visited Singapore, the setting of the novel, in 1978, “as a young backpacker, touring Asia after spending two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Korea.” I also traveled to Singapore in 1978–from Thailand, between Peace Corps teaching assignments. I too was fascinated by the emerging city-state, an oasis of calm and order compared to bustling, chaotic Bangkok or Jakarta. Six years later, he returned to Singapore, first as an associate and later as a partner of a U.S. law firm. Some years prior to Peace Corps, while working with Legal Aid attorneys as a VISTA volunteer, I . . .

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Review | FINDING MISS FONG by James A. Wolter (Malaya)

  Finding Miss Fong by James A. Wolter (Malaya 1961-63) Atmosphere Press 382 pages November 2023 (pre-order available) $ 18.99 (paperback); $27.99 (hardcover); $8.99 (Kindle)   Reviewed by Sue Hoyt Aiken (Ethiopia 1962-64) • • •  Based on the author’s own life, this novel will provide the reader with what a 22-year-old college graduate was thinking, doing and imagining at the turn of the decade just as President John F. Kennedy issued the first call for Peace Corps Volunteers. Those of us of that generation may recall the excitement of a young charismatic President as well as First Lady, Jackie! At that moment in time there were no major world-wide military clashes involving the United States. Some of the boys might have enrolled in ROTC while students,  and were off to military training that unfortunately would put some on the road to Vietnam. But mostly it was a bright future. Jim Wolter, . . .

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Review | THE MYSTICAL LAND OF MYRRH by MaryAnn Shank (Somalia)

  The Mystical Land of Myrrh (short stories) MaryAnn Shank (Somalia 1967–69) Dippity Press February 2019 222 pages $13.99 (paperback), $3.99 (Kindle), $13.97 (audiobook) Reviewed by Eugénie de Rosier (Philippines 2006-08) • • •   MaryAnn Shank has brought us a fictionalized tale of her time in Somalia, working as a teacher of middle-school children in the rural bush country of Baidoa. The author was 50 years distant from her tour when she published The Mystical Land of Myrrh, and thanked those who refreshed her memory of life there. The tantalizing use of the word myrrh drew me in, and how appropriate, as myrrh originates from the commiphora tree of Somalia. The author unspooled her stories and vignettes with a goddess, and circled to the gripping end, when Moria, Shank’s narrator, beseeched Arawello to assist its women. Teaching is an honored profession in Somalia. Peace Corps brought English to, and built schools . . .

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

  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 Bonnie Lee Black (Gabon 1996-98)   If I were still teaching Creative Nonfiction Writing at the University of New Mexico in Taos, I would assign this book to my students to read and study carefully, because I think it’s an excellent example of contemporary memoir writing done well. Some people confuse memoirs with autobiographies. To clarify: Autobiographies are stories of a life – written by, or ghost-written for, famous people who have a built-in following. Their fans have a deep-seated curiosity: How did she (or he) become so famous? So they’re willing to follow that person’s story from cradle to however close to the grave this celeb might now be — all the ups and downs . . .

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Review | THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE by Clifford Garstang (Korea)

  The Last Bird of Paradise by Clifford Garstang (Korea 1976-77) Black Rose Writing 340 pages $6.99 (Kindle) $23.95 (paperback) This novel is forthcoming in February 2024 Reviewed by Bill Preston (Thailand 1977-80)   Reading the Author’s Note following this remarkable novel, I was struck by several ways Clifford Garstang’s experience has resembled mine. He first visited Singapore, the setting of the novel, in 1978, “as a young backpacker, touring Asia after spending two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Korea.” I also traveled to Singapore in 1978–from Thailand, between Peace Corps teaching assignments. I too was fascinated by the emerging city-state, an oasis of calm and order compared to bustling, chaotic Bangkok or Jakarta. Six years later, he returned to Singapore, first as an associate and later as a partner of a U.S. law firm. Some years prior to Peace Corps, while working with Legal Aid attorneys . . .

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Review | IF YOU TURN TO LOOK BACK by Tom Hazuka (Chile)

  If You Turn to Look Back: A Memoir and Meditation by Tom Hazuka (Chile 1978-80) Woodhall Press 388 pages September 2023 $19.95 Paperback; $9.99 (Kindle) If You Turn to Look Back combines memoir with political, social, and economic investiif gations of what it means to be an American and a citizen of the world. American influence is ubiquitous in South America, and If You Turn to Look Back explores these relationships in a personal context. For Tom Hazuka was once part of that influence, from 1978-1980 as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Chile, first in the capital of Santiago, then in the far northern city of Arica, near the Peruvian border. In a chain of events springing from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in 2003 Hazuka returned to Chile to examine changes in the country, the people and himself. He left Chile at twenty-four and returned at forty-seven. Every human knows what . . .

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REVIEW | HUSTLE: THE MAKING OF A FREELANCE WRITER by Lawrence Grobel (Ghana)

HUSTLE: The Making of a Freelance Writer by Lawrence Grobel (Ghana 1968-71) Independently Published 358 pages August 2023 $19.95 (Paperback), $5.99 (Kindle) reviewed by Rita Settimo • This is a fascinating collection of pieces written over Lawrence Grobel’s entire career, starting back when he was 15 and won a writing contest sponsored by Newsday, and got to meet Robert Kennedy when he was the Attorney General. Reflecting on his life as a freelance writer, even he’s amazed that he managed to survive for six decades. He writes instructively about all the pitfalls and the difficulties of freelancing, including the rejections, and the need to persevere and believe in yourself. He includes and discusses the articles, essays, and interviews that allowed him to keep on going. Whether it was that first published essay, or his first magazine profile about an African sculptor from Ghana written when he was a Peace Corps Volunteer, . . .

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Review | ST. PETERSBURG BAY BLUES by Douglas Buchacek (Russia)

St. Petersburg Bay Blues Douglas Buchacek (Russia 2001-03) Independently published 201 pages April 2021 $15.00 (paperback) review by Steve Kaffen (Russia 1994-96) St. Petersburg Bay Blues is a lively and engaging account of the author’s experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Russia, and a member of Russia 9, the last Western Russia (Moscow-based) group before the program closed. Of note is the author’s impressive recall, without notes, of people, places, and events. He tells us, “Everywhere I went I carried a composition book, which I titled St. Petersburg Bay Blues. In it I wrote songs, poems, and the odd note or observation.” Unfortunately, the notebook was stolen. “I scrambled to write what I could remember. That’s what I have here, my attempt to document an experience that seems simultaneously alien and essential to my life.” Expectations are dangerous for a book reviewer, and I was looking forward to a . . .

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DARK STAR SAFARI by Paul Theroux (Malawi)

    Dark Star Safari:  Overland from Cairo to Cape Town by Paul Theroux Friday, November 17, 2023 — Book Review     Two decades ago, the novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux took an overland trip through Africa, starting in Cairo, Egypt and ending in Cape Town, South Africa. This certainly isn’t the safest or the most comfortable means of experiencing the supposed “dark continent”, but it makes for some interesting experiences and insights. Keeping in mind that Theroux’s observations are just one point of view among many, his resulting book Dark Star provides a unique look at a region of the world that holds a permanent place off the beaten path. While Dark Star is an easy book to read, breaking it down into its individual elements is a good way to approach its merits and examine its flaws. The first element of importance is Theroux’s sense of place. Wherever he goes, . . .

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Review | A JOURNEY FOR PEACE: A JOURNAL OF PEACE by Donald Yates (The Philippines)

  A Journey For Peace: A Journal of Peace Donald Yates (The Philippines 1962–64) Austin Macauley Publishers 122 pages March 2023 $10.95 (paperback) Review by Douglas Garatina (Ghana 1971-1973) • • • “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” It didn’t take long for Don Yates to answer this challenge made by President Kennedy. He made the decision to join the recently formed Peace Corps.  In 1962 Don transitioned from a recent college graduate living in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, to an elementary school teacher on the very remote Philippine Island of Jolo in the middle of the Sulu Sea.  To make things even more interesting, the people on Jolo were Muslims even though 95% of Filipinos were Catholic, so Don’s Peace Corps training did not prepare him for the Muslim traditions and culture he was about to enter. His . . .

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Review — “LOOK HERE, SIR, WHAT A CURIOUS BIRD” by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski (Malaysia)

  “Look Here, Sir, What a Curious Bird” by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski (Malaysia 1969-71) Explorer’s Eye Press 289 pages July 2023 $17.95 (Paperback)   Reviewed by Ed Putka (Malaysia 1969-72) By the time most people graduate from college, they mostly have an idea of a career. For me, the plan was Peace Corps, a little travel, a little diary, then back home to law school and a career in the law. Others let the road shape their careers. And so it seems with Paul Sochaczewski, a prolific writer and intrepid adventurer. After finishing college in 1969, Sochaczewski joined me and 125 other volunteers in Malaysia Group XXIV. Southeast Asia was in full conflict, but our destination, Sarawak, was an exotic and relatively quiet place. Sochaczewski fell for it, becoming immediately fascinated with not only the culture, but the sounds and smells, the spirits and the shamans, the flora and fauna of . . .

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Review — THE SHOWGIRL AND THE WRITER by Marnie Mueller (Ecuador)

  The Showgirl and the Writer: A Friendship Forged in the Aftermath of the Japanese American Incarceration by Marnie Mueller (Ecuador 1963-65) Peace Corps Writers 488 pages July 2023 $16.95 (paperback) Reviewed by Eric Madeen (Gabon 1981-83) • By turns leaky and frypan, tarpaper roofed, roughshod dormitories imprisoned 18,000 people of Japanese descent by the end at Tule Lake Japanese American High Security Segregation Camp in Northern California from 1942 to 1946. One degradation followed another, as in the incarcerated being subjected to abominable hole-in-the-wood toilets open side by side all the way down the miserable line. Barbwire topped fences. Armed guards manned watch towers looking down on imprisoned Japanese Americans guilty of no crime. At night the sweep of search lights went back and forth like metronomes. Glazing the whole sad, evil spectacle at Tule Lake concentration camp was a grainy skin of black lava dust, and slathered across . . .

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Review | THE 2022 WORLD CUP IN QATAR by Steve Kaffen (Russia)

  The 2022 World Cup in Qatar by Steve Kaffen (Russia 1994-96) April 2023 $5.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Sue Aiken (Ethiopia 1962-64) • This digital book regales us with all the beauty and memorable moments of the seventh World Cup the author attended in Qatar!  Striking photography and vivid descriptions tell the reader about the great soccer being played, upsets, a remarkable final, controversies , as well as the effort of a small Middle Eastern country.  Qatar is in the middle of a sprawling sand desert hosting perhaps the world’s most important sporting event! Having been a Saturday morning soccer mom for about 10 years of my life, but growing up completely unaware of the existence of soccer, this is truly an eye opening book told only  as someone with extensive knowledge, excitement and experience could tell.  Kaffen takes the reader along on his travel experiences ,teaching as he goes.  . . .

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Review — THE SHOWGIRL AND THE WRITER by Marnie Mueller (Ecuador)

  The Showgirl and the Writer: A Friendship Forged in the Aftermath of the Japanese American Incarceration by Marnie Mueller (Ecuador 1963-65) Peace Corps Writers 488 pages July 2023 Reviewed by John Thorndike (El Salvador 1966-68)  • This powerful mix of personal and national history unfolds in three parts. First is Marnie Mueller’s own story, starting with her birth in the Tule Lake concentration camp for Japanese Americans, where her Caucasian parents were on the staff. In this relatively short section she describes her childhood, marriage, and life as a novelist. A longer second section traces her years as friend and caregiver to Mary Mon Toy, the showgirl of the title, an actress, dancer and singer of Japanese heritage who was incarcerated in 1942 in another of the “segregation camps.” Mary claims to be half Japanese and half Chinese, something Mueller believes during the years she takes care of the . . .

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