Ben East

Listen: A Conversation at Rotary

Jun 4, 2026

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in Africa, Books, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Government Studies, Middle East, Nonfiction, Peace Corps, Podcast

The Peace Corps builds a diplomatic service steeped in cultural, linguistic, and technical skills useful for effective advocacy of U.S. interests abroad.

Library Time

May 16, 2026

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by

Ben East

in Ben’s Franklins, Books, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Government Studies, Library, Nonfiction, Peace Corps, Profiles in Service, Reading, Travel, Writing

I’m grateful to the Fairfax County Public Library for adding Profiles in Service: Peace Corps Roots in American Diplomacy, their—our!—catalogue.

Sargent Shriver’s Memoir

May 13, 2026

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by

Ben East

in Billionaires, Book Reviews, Books, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Government Studies, history, Inspiration, News, Nonfiction, Peace Corps, Profiles in Service, War, Writing

Shriver’s memoir offers lessons on the price of overconfidence in brute power abroad vs pragmatic idealism at home.

Book Review – Late to the Party

May 12, 2026

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by

Ben East

in Africa, Book Reviews, Conspiracies, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, FSJ, Government Studies, Inspiration, Music, Nonfiction, publishing, Reading, Time, Travel, Washington, Writing

In this collection of superb essays Dan Whitman is both poet and musician. An artist, he reveals the truths we know in our heart but may fail to enunciate.

Review: Meet Me in the Morning

May 8, 2026

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by

Ben East

in Book Reviews, Fiction, Identity, Inspiration, Novel, publishing, Seasons, Sports, Time, Work, Writing

Meet Me in the Morning is a quintessentially Connecticut novel, a quintessentially Ellington novel, the protagonist a nobody from nowhere trapped in a post-UCONN limbo.

Profiles in Service Now on Kindle

May 6, 2026

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by

Ben East

in Books, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Government Studies, history, Nonfiction, Profiles in Service, Reading, Writing

Profiles in Service: Peace Corps Roots in American Diplomacy is now available in seconds on your Kindle.

Book Review: Revenge of the Seawolf

Apr 28, 2026

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by

Ben East

in Book Reviews, Books, history, Nonfiction, Peace Corps, publishing, Travel, Writing

Mystery and adventure will keep readers turning the pages, and Theroux adds rich layers of historic detail, authenticity, and curiosity to the narrative.

Time Out for Hot Dogs

Apr 23, 2026

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by

Ben East

in Diplomacy, Eating, Foreign Affairs, Government Studies, Newsletter, publishing, Storytelling, Travel, Writing

Our diplomacy is retail. Do not cede it to some brutish authority. Recommend the best you meet in every circumstance. Diplomats can be everybody. Diplomats are everywhere