Making Peace with the World: Photographs of Peace Corps Volunteers [Paperback]

Richard Sitler (Author), Benjamin Cook and Amber Fricke (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2011

Winner of the 2011 Peace Corps Writers Award for Photography!

In June 2009, Richard Sitler embarked on an epic journey to document Peace Corps Volunteers serving communities around the world. Over the next two years, Richard would find himself traversing the planet while staying with Peace Corps Volunteers, experiencing their communities and work sites, and documenting what it s like to be a Volunteer in the modern Peace Corps. Richard discovered that the values President Kennedy had imagined for the Peace Corps in his famous 1960 speech at the University of Michigan continue to be evident in the organization today. However, the Volunteer has evolved drastically over the years.

Volunteers today are no longer required to conform to the stereotypical image of young idealists giving up their comfortable lives to live in a grass hut. Rather, Richard discovers Volunteers are using modern technology, such as laptops and cell phones, to not only enrich their experience, but to impact their community as well. He sees how retired professionals bring years of experience and knowledge to their organizations. And how, as it always has been, Volunteers are changing lives while being forever changed themselves.

This is the story of Peace Corps and its Volunteers, fifty years after conception.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Richard Sitler has been working on this photo project for years and he has produced a wonderful book. It is a great way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, giving his book as a gift, or keeping it yourself for your coffee table. ---- John Coyne, Editor, Peace Corps Worldwide

Through his photos and accompanying text, Richard Sitler brings us into the lives of today s Volunteers and their host communities, and in the process tells the the quiet but profound story of how the Peace Corps is still making a difference, one person at a time, around the world. --Erica Burman, Editor, Worldview Magazine

Richard's book comes at a perfect time in Peace Corps' incredible history and his keen eye has captured the diverse and amazing spirit of the Peace Corps that lives on fifty years after its founding. I highly recommend Making Peace with the World to anyone who wants to see what Peace Corps means to our host country friends, to us as Volunteers and to the world that we are reaching out to serve everyday. --Travis Hellstrom, Author of The Unofficial Peace Corps Handbook

Through his photos and accompanying text, Richard Sitler brings us into the lives of today s Volunteers and their host communities, and in the process tells the the quiet but profound story of how the Peace Corps is still making a difference, one person at a time, around the world. --Erica Burman, Editor, Worldview Magazine

Richard's book comes at a perfect time in Peace Corps' incredible history and his keen eye has captured the diverse and amazing spirit of the Peace Corps that lives on fifty years after its founding. I highly recommend Making Peace with the World to anyone who wants to see what Peace Corps means to our host country friends, to us as Volunteers and to the world that we are reaching out to serve everyday. --Travis Hellstrom, Author of The Unofficial Peace Corps Handbook

About the Author

Richard Sitler is an experienced photojournalist who grew up in Knightstown, IN. Sitler is a graduate of Blackburn College in Carlinville, IL and has also studied at The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, ME. He has worked at newspapers in Ohio, Indiana, New Hampshire and New Jersey.

From 2000 to 2002 Sitler took a break from his photojournalism career to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica. Sitler served as an at-risk youth advisor to the Lluidas Vale All Age School.

In 2006 Sitler returned to Jamaica as a Crisis Corps volunteer (now called Peace Corps Response) where he served as a Curriculum Developer for a community youth training center in Ewarton, St. Catherine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Other Places Pubishing; First edition (March 10, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982261985
• ISBN-13: 978-0982261989
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,593,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - photos show the emotion of being a Peace Corps volunteer March 30, 2011

By M. Windisch

Format:Paperback

With vivid photographs, "Making Peace with the World" shows today's Peace Corps Volunteers in action in communities around the World. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps this photo book captures the work of current Peace Corps Volunteers illustrating the relationships developed between the Volunteers and those they live with, work with, and serve. This is a great book for anyone who has an interest in the work of the Peace Corps, for those who have served in the Peace Corps, for those who are currently serving, and for those considering becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer. This book shows the variety of people that become Volunteers, shows the variety of projects they are involved in, and shows the variety of places in which they live and serve. The book would be a welcome addition to high school, college and community libraries - it would be a valuable resource for Peace Corps recruiters - it's a resource that will encourage both young and old to dream of helping to make Peace a reality through Peace Corps service. "Making Peace with the World" is truly a celebration of Peace. With so much war and strife in the World, it's time to celebrate the Peace that exists. I highly recommend this book which tells the story of Peace Corps and its Volunteers, fifty years after JFK's call to "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country".

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book January 28, 2012

By C. Doran

Format:Paperback

I really enjoyed this book. Beautiful photographs and sensitive captions. It shows the breadth and depth of Peace Corps Service around the world. Great read and/or a gift for current and past PC volunteers, their families and those who are considering applying. Also a nice coffee table book just to look through to look at travel sites.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written and illustrated book about the Peace Corps April 18, 2011

By C. Long

Format:Paperback

Being the mother of a daughter who recently spent two years and three months as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco, I was delighted to learn that a book was being written about several countries in which PCVs served, and that my daughter was featured in the book (Rebecca Luhrs, Morocco)! When my copy came in the mail, I could not have been more pleased with the outcome. Having visited Rebecca at her site, "Making Peace With The World" breathed special life into my trip. The book is complete and concise, and is beautifully photographed. I enjoyed reading about other volunteer experiences in other countries in the world, and it was a pleasure to see the joy on the faces of both the volunteers and those they served. Very insightful look into the Peace Corps. I highly recommend it!