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

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.

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.

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.

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!