So, You Want to Join the Peace Corps: What to Know Before You Go [Paperback]

Dillon Banerjee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2004

If you're like most people interested in joining the Peace Corps, the thought of spending a couple of years immersed in a different country, language, and culture sounds both adventurous and intimidating. As you contemplate the reality of volunteering, your mind races with questions. Which programs are my skills best suited to? How will the culture shock affect me? What will my life overseas be like? Will my work really make a difference? Written by a returned Peace Corps volunteer, SO, YOU WANT TO JOIN THE PEACE CORPS...is a candid, straightforward guide that answers all these questions and many more. Author Dillon Banerjee shares his personal insights—and those of returned volunteers who served all over the world—to help prepare you for the experience of a lifetime. Whether you're thinking of joining, or have already been accepted and are getting ready to leave, this book provides answers you simply can't find elsewhere.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-Using a question-and-answer format, a former Peace Corps volunteer addresses the concerns teenagers and parents might harbor about this important decision. From packing tips and living among the locals to medical services and staying in touch with home, there are practical comments and stories of actual experiences from volunteers, plus statements of Peace Corps policy for guidance. Eleven appendixes offer facts about and maps of Peace Corps projects, descriptions of programs and requirements, and lists of alternative organizations. "How to Become a Competitive Candidate" will be useful to teens because it suggests volunteer and extracurricular activities that will enhance their future qualifications for Peace Corps work.

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When Banerjee decided to join the Peace Corps, he looked for books that would tell him about the experience but found very little. So he decided, after returning from his stint in Cameroon, to write his own book. The result is this very interesting work, which tackles a variety of questions prospective Peace Corps applicants might have. Banerjee covers the steps in the application process; what to take along; the training process; returning home; drugs, sex, illness, and money; how to get mail sent to you; what happens if there is a government uprising; and what happens if someone gets pregnant or falls in love with a member of the local community. He also provides extensive information on what sorts of programs currently exist, what sort of experience they require, and what schools accept the Peace Corps experience toward a masters degree, among other things. This useful and very readable book will a find a home in career development centers and public libraries.
-Danna C. Bell-Russel, Lib. of Congress, Washington DC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580080979
• ISBN-13: 978-1580080972
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #460,631 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dillon Banerjee grew up traveling around the world, living in the Philippines and Indonesia as a child. After getting his B.A. from the College of William and Mary, joining the corporate world as a consultant in Washington DC, and ski-bumming it in Aspen for a while, he returned to life overseas as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, West Africa. His first book, So You Want to Join the Peace Corps: What to Know Before you Go, was the book he wished existed before he joined the Peace Corps. Published in 2000, it provided "real" answers to the many questions prospective volunteers typically have. The second edition, The Insider's Guide to the Peace Corps, was released in April, 2009 with several important updates and additions. Dillon now works as a diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The straight stuff about joining the Peace Corps, March 1, 2000

By 

Rusty Whitney - See all my reviews

This review is from: So, You Want to Join the Peace Corps: What to Know Before You Go (Paperback)

Dillon Banerjee directly answers questions ranging from what you should pack to loneliness, disease, relationships and ET (Early Termination of the two-year commitment) in the Peace Corps. His candid answers to these and many more questions are introduced with a page listing the acronyms that pepper PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) conversations.

The book grew from Banerjee's personal frustration trying to answer these questions for himself: he couldn't find a single book written from the perspective of a Volunteer. Those questions, informed by his later experiences in 1994-96 as a PCV in Cameroon, plus those of many other RPCV's (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) are the basis for this unusual book.

It is organized around 73 questions starting with "1 What is the application process like?" and ending with "73 Would you go back and do the Peace Corps all over again?" The sometimes poignant answers to this final question were written by twelve RPCV's including Anne Hauk who wrote, "... I feel passionate about Uzbekistan, I also feel passionate about the Peace Corps; there's so much to love and hate about them both...."

The nine appendices are rich with information including PCV requirements and how to strengthen your own application plus lists of loan programs and RPCV support groups arranged by state. The style is simple, direct and immediately useful as one expects with books from Ten Speed Press.

I recommend this book to anyone thinking about joining the Peace Corps. It will also be invaluable to friends and family members who stay behind. It gives a rich context in which to understand the Peace Corps experience that the rest of us must imagine mostly from letters.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FINALLY! A GREAT book on the Peace Corps!, February 16, 2000

By 

stacey greenberg - See all my reviews

This review is from: So, You Want to Join the Peace Corps: What to Know Before You Go (Paperback)

I got this book yesterday and read it straight through. It is one of the most informative and useful books about the Peace Corps that I have ever read. As a former PCV in Cameroon, I can honestly say that Dillon Banerjee has successfully captured "the Peace Corps experience," which is no easy task. He gives very clear answers to some very tough questions. This book is sure to become an instant classic, "The" book to read. I would (and will!) recommend this book to anyone interested in joining the Peace Corps.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get the Insider Info, May 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: So, You Want to Join the Peace Corps: What to Know Before You Go (Paperback)

Ever want to run away from home & join the Foreign Legion? Ever want to do something great and heroic with your life? Even if you don't want to join the Peace Corps, this is a very interesting book. I had wondered for years of the ins and outs of doing this noble job. This book covers all the points shortly & to the point. I read the book straight through.

It is not an autobiography, though that would have been interesting. The author tries hard to stick to the general rather than the specifics of just one country. He covers everything from how much a volunteer makes, to how the housing works to transportation. What is really cool is he is realistic enough to include the off-the-record things like safe sex & alcohol/drug use etc.

Read the book if you are interested in changing our life, or you are just interested in the workings of this organization.