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Catalog

BELGIUM

A Worldly Art

Mariet Westermann

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PROVENCE & THE COTE D'AZUR

A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France

Georgeanne Brennan

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OUR FAVORITES

Arctic Dreams

Barry Lopez

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PENGUIN CLASSICS

The Log from the Sea of Cortez

John Steinbeck

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Peace Corps Writers

READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

Living Poor

Living Poor

by Moritz Thomsen

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 280 PAGES

Moritz's heartfelt account of his small triumphs and tragedies as a Peace Corps volunteer in a village on the Ecuadorian coast is a classic. (EDR13, $26.95)

Mating

Mating

by Norman Rush

  • LITERATURE
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

This comic novel evokes daily life in Botswana and skewers the notion of well-intentioned academics at large in the developing world. The description of a trek from Gaborone to the Kalahari is terrific. (BOT03, $16.95)

Mango Elephants in the Sun

Mango Elephants in the Sun

by Susana Herrera

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 270 PAGES

Teens will especially respond to this lively tale of the transformation of a 23-year-old Californian from bumbling volunteer to a member of the community in this tale of Herrera's two years teaching English in northern Cameroon. (WAF20, $22.95)

Chasing the Sea

Chasing the Sea

by Tom Bissell

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 388 PAGES

Self-confessed adventure junkie, Bissell skillfully interweaves anecdote, history and grim reports on ecological disasters in this smart, funny and informative account of travels through Uzbekistan and Central Asia in 2001. (CAS103, $14.95)

River Town, Two Years on the Yangtze

River Town, Two Years on the Yangtze

by Peter Hessler

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 432 PAGES

Hessler's compelling, personal story of life as a Peace Corps volunteer in Fuling, where foreigners are a curiosity, explores the culture, traditions and ideas of an isolated world. (CHN125, $14.99)

Nine Hills to Nambonkaha

Nine Hills to Nambonkaha

by Sarah Erdman

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Erdman's affectionate memoir of her time as a volunteer at a health clinic captures the rhythms, traditions and challenges of village life on the Ivory Coast in the days before civil war. (WAF72, $16.00)

 

Laughing in the Hills


by Bill Barich

  • SPORT
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 228 PAGES

This wonderful 1980 horse racing classic never loses its luster or charm. Author Bill Barich explores the day-to-day internal world of horse racing--from the backside to the backstretch. (GEN427, $14.95)

Oracle Bones

Oracle Bones


by Peter Hessler

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

In this fine portrait of tumult and tradition, Hessler (River Town) finds clues to modern China's realities in the personal stories of peasants, scholars, day laborers and activists. (CHN316, $15.99)

The Assassins' Gate, America in Iraq

The Assassins' Gate, America in Iraq


by George Packer

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 481 PAGES

Packer reconstructs America's entry in the Iraq War, focusing particular attention on the cultural misunderstandings on both sides. (IRQ29, $16.00)

The Punishment of Virtue, Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban

The Punishment of Virtue, Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban


by Sarah Chayes

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 386 PAGES

Remaining in Kandahar after her stint as an NPR reporter during the invasion, Chayes offers a beautifully written, poignant account of a community in the grip of violence and corrpuption. (CAS161, $16.00)

The Village of Waiting

The Village of Waiting


by George Packer

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 332 PAGES

Stationed as a Peace Corps instructor in Togo, Packer reveals his own schooling at the hands of an unforgettable array of townspeople. (WAF151, $16.00)

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man


by John Perkins

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 250 PAGES

Former consultant to the U.S. government Perkins reveals the effects the U.S.'s meddling and missteps have had on Third World economies. With chapters focused on Panama, Iran, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia and other nations. (GEN561, $16.00)

Country Driving

Country Driving


by Peter Hessler

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

Opening with an eventful 7,000-mile road trip across northern China, Peter Hessler (River Town, Oracle Bones) shows the absurdity, humor and hope of China in this latest portrait of a nation catapulted into the modern world. (CHN600, $15.99)

Japanland, A Year in Search of Wa


by Karin Muller

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 307 PAGES

Looking to gain a competitive edge in her judo practice and a fresh perspective in life, Muller, who ended up also making a film about her experience, heads to Japan for a year. She discovers in sometimes awkward, often comical interactions just how maddeningly complicated it is being Japanese. (JPN366, $15.95)

Kosher Chinese, Living, Teaching, and Eating With China's Other Billion

Kosher Chinese, Living, Teaching, and Eating With China's Other Billion


by Michael Levy

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 242 PAGES

Levy overcomes certain cultural differences - and becomes obsessed with others - while a Peace Corps volunteer in Guiyang, capital of the Guizhou province in rural China. (CHN685, $15.00)

The Edge of Paradise, America in Micronesia

The Edge of Paradise, America in Micronesia


by P. K. Kluge

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 244 PAGES

The insightful, personal memoir of a Peace Corps volunteer in the American possessions in the Mariana, Caroline and Marshall Islands of Micronesia in 1967, including Truk and Ponape. (PAC33, $21.00)

The Ponds of Kalambayi

The Ponds of Kalambayi


by Mike Tidwell

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

A disarmingly forthright, charming account of adventures in Zaire by a young peace corps volunteer, much more about cultures and character than Tilapia, the fish in question. (CAF12, $16.95)

A Small Key Opens Big Doors

A Small Key Opens Big Doors


by Jay Chen

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2011
  • PAPER

A collection of 40 tales from Peace Corps workers over the last 50 years in Eurasia. (EUR407, $18.95)

African Visas, A Novella and Stories


by Maria Thomas

  • LITERATURE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 242 PAGES

The last of three well-received books by the Peace Corps volunteer and writer Roberta Worrick (all written under the pen name Maria Thomas), this dark, modern novella and six sharp stories are set mainly in Ethiopia. (ETP40, $12.00)

Come to Africa and Save Your Marriage and other Stories

Come to Africa and Save Your Marriage and other Stories


by Maria Thomas

  • LITERATURE
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 232 PAGES

A twentieth anniversary edition of the African expatriate author's wry 14 short stories. (EAF163, $12.00)

Easy in the Islands, Stories

Easy in the Islands, Stories


by Bob Shacochis

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 214 PAGES

A collection of short stories and one of the most evocative depictions of daily life on the islands. Shacochis's characters, from islanders and interlopers, all ring true and his writing is a graceful tribute to the music, politics and cultural quirks of the Caribbean. (CRB78, $13.00)

Even the Smallest Crab Has Teeth

Even the Smallest Crab Has Teeth


by Jane Albritton

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2011
  • PAPER

An anthology of tales from Peace Corps workers over the past 50 years across Asia and the Pacific. (ASA86, $18.95)

From the Center of the Earth, Stories Out of the Peace Corps


by Gerald Kennedy

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1991
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

With contributions by Kathleen Coskran, Eileen Drew, Tom Heidlebaugh, Barbara Kerley, William McCauley, George Packer, Bob Shacochis, Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, Kinney Thiele, Maria Thomas, Moritz Thomsen, Mike Tidwell and Richard Wiley. (WLD213, $12.95)

Gather the Fruit One By One

Gather the Fruit One By One


by Pat Alter

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2011
  • PAPER

Amazing tales from Peace Corps volunteers in the Americas over the last 50 years. (NAM69, $18.95)

One Hand Does Not Catch A Buffalo

One Hand Does Not Catch A Buffalo


by Aaron Barlow

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2011
  • PAPER

Published in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, these sixty stories give readers a glimpse into the life and times of Peace Corps volunteers in the villages and cities from Morocco to South Africa. (AFR288, $18.95)

Taste of Salt, A Story of Modern Haiti

Taste of Salt, A Story of Modern Haiti


by Frances Temple

  • LITERATURE
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 192 PAGES
  • YOUNG ADULTS

A boy and girl share their life stories in this young adult novel, set in Haiti in 1991. (CRB145, $5.99)

Tea of Ulaanbaatar

Tea of Ulaanbaatar


by Christopher R. Howard

  • LITERATURE
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

Youthful idealism is pit against moral decay in Howard's debut novel about the Peace Corps, Mongol hordes, hallucinogenic tea, and American nightmares, set in late 1990s Mongolia. (MGL72, $14.95)

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