Citizenship | Literature
Select novels, short stories, and nonfiction on contemporary life.
Ben East’s nonfiction debut recounts how JFK’s bold experiment shaped diplomatic careers and influenced modern American diplomacy.
The figures highlighted here tracked looted antiquities after the invasion of Iraq, re-established diplomacy in Afghanistan after 9/11, and secured village infrastructure while war raged in Vietnam. As hostages in Iran, they maintained diplomatic discipline to bridge a volatile cultural divide. These are individuals of deep courage and conviction, whether integrating a southern U.S. high school or finding comfort in African village beliefs to cope with personal tragedy.
Read, Listen, Watch
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From Peace Corps service, Ambassador Hill knew how fraught the process of picking someone else’s leadership could be. He’d seen it fail time and again
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Ben East’s nonfiction debut recounts how JFK’s bold experiment shaped diplomatic careers and influenced modern American diplomacy.
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He would be alone, learning a new culture much as he had as a Peace Corps volunteer in Buea, Cameroon, navigating ambiguity by instinct.
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The start of war against Iran by Israel and the United States requires recognition of others’ service and misery before resuming regularly-scheduled programming on Peace.
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Sixty-five years ago today, March 1, 1961, President Kennedy signed the Executive Order that created a Peace Corps within the Department of State.
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I talked extensively about development issues afflicting Honduras. But first I had to develop the reputation for being a true friend of the country and its people. -Ambassador Frank Almaguer
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You Peace Corps people know so much more about the country than most of our politicians do. -attributed to Honduran President Carlos Roberto Flores
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Time to head to the Pacific Islands and see what Peace Corps lawyers were up to in Micronesia in 1966.
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Profiles in Service: Peace Corps Roots in American Diplomacy is now available and I’m reviving the practice of sharing memorable stories from the collection.
Ben East Books 