Volunteers in the African Bush: Memoirs from Sierra Leone

Indianapolis: Dog Ear Publishing, January 2013. Trade Paperback. Fine. Slight reading wear to corners, otherwise pristine. Not from a library. No remainder mark. Not clipped. Not damaged. Suitable for gifting. 163 pages.

The 25 authors of this book were volunteers in the first Peace Corps rural community development project in Africa: Sierra Leone, 1965-67. They are also the first group to tell a collective story of Peace Corps volunteers, anywhere. The Peace Corps was in its infancy then, and memories of John Kennedy were strong among the young volunteers. Sierra Leone was also in its infancy in the first few years after independence, before military coups and tribal warfare became common. The authors forthrightly recount their feelings of loneliness and isolation, and their frightening experiences with secret societies and witchcraft, but their uniquely optimistic "can-do" American attitude brought most through a great life experience.