Bibliography by Author

Warren, Dennis M. (Ghana, 1964–66), and Brian Ethan Schwimmer, eds.

Anthropology and the Peace Corps: Case Studies in Career Preparation. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1993. Library of Congress Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/90020352

Publisher’s description: “This volume examines growth and change in American anthropology as the field has been influenced by Peace Corps volunteers. It does so through writings by 21 former Peace Corps volunteers, including the editors, who became professional anthropologists. Part I creates a general profile of Peace Corps volunteers who entered careers in anthropology. Part II presents specific accounts that discuss each of the contributors’ motivations for joining the Peace Corps. The contributors also discuss their corps experiences, their reasons for choosing or maintaining careers in anthropology, the matches and mismatches of academic anthropology with experiences in the field, and the impact of the Peace Corps experience on academic anthropology.”

Westfall, Matthew (Philippines, 1983–85).

The Devil’s Causeway: The True Story of America’s First Prisoners of War in the Philippines, and the Heroic Expedition Sent to their Rescue. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press, 2012. Library of Congress Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/2012011778

Publisher’s description: “As the United States engaged in a bloody campaign to pacify its newly-won Philippines territory, a secret American mission went terribly wrong, resulting in a prisoner-of-war incident that foreshadowed World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. What happened next was an epic struggle for survival, a test of the human will to live, and ultimately, a crucible for heroes. The story of their captivity and the torturous expedition sent to the American POWs’ rescue, recalled today as one of the greatest marches in U.S. Army history, features a tightly hewn cast of characters­. A sweeping military epic drawing on international primary sources, The Devil’s Causeway tells their extraordinary story in its entirety for the first time.”

White, Virginia P. (Hungary, 1992–94).

Over the Hill in Hungary. Commack, New York: Kroshka Books, 1999. Library of Congress Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/98048597

Publisher’s description: “When the Soviet Army that kept Hungary’s communist government in power for 40 years marched away in 1990, they left an economically despondent heavily polluted country whose dispirited people had become cynical and embittered by too many broken promises of happy tomorrows in exchange for hard work and sacrifice today. Their life expectancy was among the world’s lowest and their suicide rate among the highest. By the middle 1990s, Hungary was being hailed as “The economic miracle of post-communist Eastern Europe.” Virginia White observed the transformation and chronicled it in Over the Hill in Hungary. At an age when most people are planning their retirement or may be already retired, she went to Hungary with the U.S. Peace Corps and taught English in a “gymnasium” (high school)….”

Wiley, Richard (South Korea, 1967–69).

Ahmed’s Revenge: A Novel. 1st ed. New York: Random House, 1998. Library of Congress Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/97015374

Publisher’s description: “The people in Richard Wiley’s fiction live in the dangerous territory where cultures and worlds collide…. In…Ahmed’s Revenge, Wiley introduces us to Nora Grant, a young coffee farmer living in Kenya in the 1970s, [who]…has disbelievingly stumbled upon her husband, Julius, engaged in what appears to be ivory smuggling, one of the Europeans’ dirtiest games. Before Nora can confront Julius, he is killed in accidental circumstances that soon look more like murder. Nora investigates her husband’s affairs, coming across a succession of people whose lives intertwine and intersect….”

Festival for Three Thousand Maidens. New York: Dutton, 1991. Library of Congress Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/90044044

Subject: This is a novel about a rite of passage of a callow Peace Corps volunteer assigned to teach English in rural Korea; he gets drawn into rural politics and cultural conflicts that propel him toward maturity.

Wilfong Holt, Lorissa (Hungary, 1990s).

A Gift of Life: A Memoir of a Peace Corps Volunteer in Hungary. Boise, Idaho: Book Lore Publications, 2003. Library of Congress Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/2003105443

Subject: This is a memoir of a Holocaust survivor’s two-year service as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in a middle school in Komádi, Hungary.

Wilson, Angene Hopkins, and Jack Wilson, eds. (Liberia, 1962–64; Sierra Leone, 1966–68).

Voices from the Peace Corps: Fifty Years of Kentucky Volunteers. . Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2011. Library of Congress Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/2010042385

Publisher’s description: “President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961. In the fifty years since, nearly 200,000 Americans have served in 139 countries, providing technical assistance, promoting a better understanding of American culture, and bringing the world back to the United States. In Voices from the Peace Corps: Fifty Years of Kentucky Volunteers, Angene Wilson and Jack Wilson…follow the experiences of volunteers as they make the decision to join, attend training, adjust to living overseas and the job, make friends, and eventually return home to serve in their communities. They also describe how the volunteers made a difference in their host countries and how they became citizens of the world for the rest of their lives…. Voices from the Peace Corps emphasizes the value of practical idealism in building meaningful cultural connections that span the globe.”

Worrick, Roberta (see Thomas, Maria).

Wyss, Susi (Central African Republic, 1990–92).

The Civilized World: A Novel in Stories. 1st ed. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2011. Library of Congress Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/2010028288

Publisher’s description: “A glorious literary debut set in Africa about five unforgettable women—two of them haunted by a shared tragedy—whose lives intersect in unexpected and sometimes explosive ways…. At once deeply moving and utterly charming, The Civilized World follows five women as they face meddling mothers-in-law, unfaithful partners, and the lingering aftereffects of racism, only to learn that their cultural differences are outweighed by their common bond as women. With vibrant prose, Susi Wyss explores what it means to need forgiveness—and what it means to forgive.”