Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This book fills a certain need among Peace Corps applicants. Questions are typically answered with huge, sweeping generalizations within the PC world. Banerjee goes a long way in his attempt to quell the anxiety felt by anyone who has received, extensively, those vacuous responses. The problem is, however, that the life of a PC volunteer varies from one volunteer to the next. There is so much depending on your site, your country, and your personality that it is difficult to answer any one question without beginning to generalize as your recruiter or placement officer (or medical officer, or staging personnel, or...) has to do on a daily basis. It's just REALLY hard to answer any questions about PC life that will translate across the board to everyone. My suggestion: read the book. If you've had that nagging feeling that this is something you want to do, that you really want to join the Peace Corps, this book will not sway you either way. It might even answer some questions. But you know if you really want to go. So just do it. I'm speaking as someone who survived an evacuation and re-assignment. It will all work out.

As a current volunteer I also read this book to prepare for my service. Looking back on it now a lot of the questions are outdated and no longer relevant. Take for instance riding motorcycles. From what I have gathered no one in the Peace Corps is allowed to even ride on a motorcycle as even a passenger.

I also wanted to use this as a forum for potential volunteers. It is true that you will get a wide range of answers and generalizations from volunteers and recruiters. This is because no experience is the same and they genuinely do not want to mislead you.

I would look to see if this book is available in the library. If you are to become a volunteer start saving money now. It is worth so much more wherever you end up going. Also try to e-mail a volunteer that is currently in your country/region. They will be ab le to give you the best advice as to what you will and won't need. Also ask them what kind of language materials you should get prior to arrival.

Anyone that knows they are going to Thailand can feel free to contact me.

This is an amazing book! Dillon Banerjee really knows what he is talking about. I wish "So You Want to Join the Peace Corps" had been available before I became a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco in 1993. It gives a complete, balanced picture of life as a volunteer in a developing country. I want to send this book to everyone who is interested in joining the Peace Corps, who has served in the Peace Corps, and who would enjoy learning more about international adventures!

This book has everything you need to know about the Peace Corps! Wanting to join myself, I haven't been able to find a lot of updated books on the subject. There are a lot of fictionalized accounts, but this is the best book I could have found!

The author himself served in Camaroon a few years back and has first hand knowledge of what its like. He talks about everything I wanted to know, including: the application process, traveling after the two years are up, the different jobs that are offered, statistics on who serves, dating, whether or not there will be electricity, and other important things!!

The book has a different question on every page, so you can turn to the subject you need---gets right to the point!

I recommend this for anyone looking to go into the peace corps or anyone interested in seeing what its like... he describes it so clearly, you feel like you are there.

After researching every Peace Corps site on the net, I have finally began to continue my reading in local book stores and libraries. I read this book in one sitting and found many answers to the questions I had and even questions I hadn't considered yet. Sometimes the information gets a little redundant, but this book could have been a little better if Banerjee provided his readers with more personal volunteer stories. But all in all, if you have questions this book has plenty of answers and you won't walk away feeling like you wasted your money.

This book is the only one of its type that I have found, and is a thorough resource for those considering joining the Peace Corps. Much of it is practical advice for when you are actually a Peace Corps Volunteer serving overseas. However, it can be quite useful if you are just considering joining, as it gives you a good look at the realities of serving in the Peace Corps.

I have read it cover to cover and still have many un-answered questions about life in the Peace Corps, but it did address many of my concerns in a realistic way. The question-and-answer format makes it exceedingly easy to read and find the answer to FAQ's of prospective Peace Corps Volunteers. However, I felt the book was too short and would have liked to know much more than was printed.

Overall, it's an excellent starting resource for anyone considering joining the Peace Corps, or those who have already joined and are waiting to leave for their assignment.

I have dreamt of the Peace Corps for years now, and since college graduation is nearing, I read this book. It's put in a simple question and answer format, so you can skip to or refer back to a specific concern of yours. He brought up questions I hadn't even thought of, and now Peace Corps life is a lot clearer to me. So clear, I might not even go anymore! The only thing I didn't like about this book was that he says "you will feel this way or that way" and "this is what will happen;" I wish he would have told about his experience more than telling me what I will experience, as if we all go through the same thing. I would have also liked to hear more about specific projects. I very much appreciated that he gave the up side and the down side; it's not just an advertisement for the Peace Corps. I also like that in the end there are references for other volunteer abroad opportunities, as I'm looking for something with a shorter commitment. This advice can be applied to programs other than the Peace Corps, and my copy is now full of highlights and dog-eared pages. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about the Peace Corps.