This review appears in the latest issue of Crime Factory magazine--the excellent Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! by Douglas Lindsay. Enjoy, coffee drinkers and Beatles lovers! Before Douglas Lindsay’s Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! descends into nightmare, the narrative hints at a story about the ho-hum life: the humorous musings of a middle-aged man resigned to a tired … Continue reading Review: Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Travel Writing
Peace Corps Retrospective
A compilation of posts recalling my Peace Corps service in Malawi (1996-1998). Crossing Paths with Paul Theroux in Malawi I’ve always felt a strong connection Paul Theroux, due largely to our shared legacy as Peace Corps Volunteers in Malawi. When I expressed reluctance about taking an assignment teaching English there in the 90s, the recruiter suggested I read My Secret … Continue reading Peace Corps Retrospective
CURRY PATTA, JUNGLE OATS, AND PEACE CORPS
My wife keeps a curry plant to flavor her beautiful Indian cooking. Our boys have taken to snapping off the greenest leaves and eating them raw. Their chewing fills the air with a sharp, fresh scent. Yesterday, the plant was brought indoors—frost—to spend the night on our low kitchen table. When the boys found it … Continue reading CURRY PATTA, JUNGLE OATS, AND PEACE CORPS
CURRY PATTA, JUNGLE OATS, AND PEACE CORPS
My wife keeps a curry plant to flavor her beautiful Indian cooking. Our boys have taken to snapping off the greenest leaves and eating them raw. Their chewing fills the air with a sharp, fresh scent. Yesterday, the plant was brought indoors—frost—to spend the night on our low kitchen table. When the boys found it … Continue reading CURRY PATTA, JUNGLE OATS, AND PEACE CORPS
Ben East or Ben East?
The University of New Haven posted this article today: WEST HAVEN, CONN. --- Look up Ben East on Amazon and adventure books pop out at you. But it’s not THAT Ben East – an American outdoorsman and writer throughout much of the last century – that we are talking about. We’re talking about Ben East, … Continue reading Ben East or Ben East?
Review (Niger) – A Dry and Thirsty Land
A Dry and Thirsty Land: The Misadventures of a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa - by Bryant Wieneke (Niger 1974–76) Mr. Wieneke’s engaging 60,000-word memoir contains all the stuff of Peace Corps legend, from encounters with exotic insects and large snakes to bouts of diarrhea and Malarial fever. It also contains a large dose of the question: … Continue reading Review (Niger) – A Dry and Thirsty Land
Ben East Books 