history – Ben East Books

Choosing Local Leadership

Mar 6, 2026

—

by

in Africa, Books, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Government Studies, Nonfiction, Peace Corps, Profiles in Service, Storytelling, Writing

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

Profile: Donald Bliss

Feb 18, 2026

—

by

Ben East

in Books, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Government Studies, history, Nonfiction, Peace Corps, Profiles in Service, publishing, Reading, Storytelling, Washington, Writing

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.

Hostage Crisis III and the Ghosts of Camelot

Oct 31, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in Books, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Government Studies, history, Middle East, Nonfiction, Peace Corps, Politics, Profiles in Service, Travel, War, Washington

Metrinko was cleaned up and brought to meet Tehran’s Friday prayer leader Ali Khamenei. In the room were a camera crew and the SFIL spokesperson, Niloufar Ebtekar

Peace Corps Turkey and Iran

Oct 30, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in Books, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, history, Middle East, Nonfiction, Peace Corps, Profiles in Service, Travel

Before enduring 444 days of captivity at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Michael Metrinko served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Turkey (1968-70) and Iran (1970-73).

Profile: Michael Metrinko

Oct 28, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in Books, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Government Studies, history, Middle East, Nonfiction, Peace Corps, Profiles in Service, Storytelling, Terrorism, Travel, War, Washington

Afghan Finance Minister Ghani steeped Metrinko and Peace Corps Director Vasquez in nostalgia from his years learning English and basketball with PCVs in Kabul

Iran Hostage Crisis II

Oct 23, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in Books, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Government Studies, history, Identity, Middle East, Nonfiction, Peace Corps, Politics, Profiles in Service, Storytelling, Terrorism, Travel, Washington

Limbert’s poise, broadcast in Iran and around the world, leveraged Khamenei’s own culture into a polite message discrediting those holding the Americans captive

Telling America’s Story to the World

Oct 17, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in Blogs, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Peace Corps, Podcast, Storytelling

An author and former diplomat reflects on his hometown, his earliest career failure, and how Peace Corps helped him overcome it to tell America’s story abroad

Profile: Brenda Brown Schoonover

Sep 16, 2025

—

by

Ben East

in Africa, Books, Diplomacy, Foreign Affairs, Government Studies, Peace Corps, Philippines, Profiles in Service, Washington, Writing

As a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines, Brenda Brown Schoonover found people were interested in her views as an American, not as an African American.