The Insider's Guide to the Peace Corps: What to Know Before You Go (2nd ed.)

#424
Title: The Insider's Guide to the Peace Corps: What to Know Before You Go (2nd ed.)
Author: Dillon Banerjee
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Year: 2009
192 pages

Banerjee provides a useful introduction to the Peace Corps experience in a series of 74 short, FAQ-like answers to questions like "Can I bring my pet overseas with me?", "What is the training like?", and "Will I be lonely?" This is useful and pragmatic. It's also an overview; the reader is unlikely to get a good sense of what the Peace Corps's mission is, what its interventions are based on, or what typical days in the different fields are like.

Banerjee answers questions about being gay, a minority, or older, but not about being a potential volunteer with disabilities. Most of the information seems to be up to date, though my experience with international calling in recent years has been of a steady increase in VOIP kiosks.

This would be a useful reference book for anyone thinking of making their first extended international journey, studying abroad, or getting their first job in another country. Specific country recommendations are relatively easy to find; an overview that ranges from money changing to "Will I get worms?" is welcome and less easy to come by.