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Peace Corps:
A Pathfinder
by Ron Herrgesell, Librarian
[Ecuador ’64-‘66]
This Pathfinder is to make information about the Peace Corps locally accessible for inquirers and researchers, as well as for potential, and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs).
It may be helpful to read an explanation and view the flowchart detailing the relationship between the Peace Corps and the National Peace Corps Association.
Encyclopedias
Directories
Books
Magazines
Databases
Websites
Programs & Events
Local Resources
Associations
Related Pathfinders
General encyclopedias have entries describing the Peace Corps under that title.
See the National Peace Corps Association Pathfinder.
Here are some useful Subject Headings to search for materials:
Peace Corps
Peace Corps by country
Volunteerism
Culture Conflict
Americans - Developing Countries - Fiction
Books About The Peace Corps
Redmon, Coates. Come As You Are: The Peace Corps Story. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1986. [361.26 RED] "Not a conventional history, but rather an unconventional ‘mood and flavor’ account …" Pre-JFK sources of a "peace corps” idea included.
Rice, Gerard T. The Bold Experiment: JFK’s Peace Corps. Notre Dame, IN: U. Notre Dame Press, 1985. [361.26 RIC] "Rice chronicles the Peace Corps from idea into political reality". He details the early structure, rules and training of the Corps, but not far beyond the Kennedy years.
Schwartz, Karen. What You Can Do For Your Country: An Oral History Of The Peace Corps. New York: W. Morrow, 1991. [361.2 SCH] "Provides a good understanding of how the Corps changed from its early idealism to its present (1991) practical role." Through " …hundreds of interviews (from staff and volunteers in the field) and extensive research".
Stossel, Scott. Sarge: The Life And Times Of Sargent Shriver. Foreword by Bill Moyers. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books , 2004. [BIO SHRIVER] Part 3: The Peace Corps (1961-1963) an intimate stroll from the start thru LBJ to Shriver’s beginning the "War On Poverty".
Banerjee, Dillon. So, You Want To Join The Peace Corps…What To Know Before You Go. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2000. [361.3 BAN] " …sprung out of my own frustrations…" " …most of the experiences were fairly typical for the PC…" "Life throughout the developing world shares a surprising number of commonalities .…"
Windmiller, Marshall. The Peace Corps And Pax Americana. Washington, DC: Public Affairs Press, 1970. [309.22 WIN] "…the first book to challenge the fundamental assumption upon which the Peace Corps was founded …" "conceived as an instrument with which to fight communism, and has evolved into a public relations device to give legitimacy to the economic, political, and military expansion of the US."
Making A Difference: The Peace Corps At Twenty-Five. Edited by Milton Viorst; with a foreword by Ronald Reagan. New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1986. [361.26 MAK] "This is a lively book (a variety of essays) that takes a hard look at Peace Corps, exploring its strengths and weaknesses .…" Loret Miller Ruppe, PC Director.
Fischer, Fritz. Making Them Like Us: Peace Corps Volunteers in the 1960s. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Press, 1998. [361.6 FIS] "Based on newly available records, "Making Them Like Us" explores the dissonance between the straight forward economic development envisioned by Peace Corps leaders and the complicated realities … encountered by the volunteers."
Fuchs, Lawrence H. Those Peculiar Americans: The Peace Corps and the American National Charactcer. New York: Meredith Press, 1967. [309.22 FUC] "...personal and dramatic account of the tensions, conflicts, joys and changes experienced by the first 630 Peace Corps volunteers in the Philippines during his tenure as PC Director in that country."
For a complete list of books about the Peace Corps, visit online:
Bibliography of Peace Corps Books by Non-Peace Corps Writers
Books By The Peace Corps
Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook (prepared by the Peace Corps Office of Planning, Policy, and Analysis). Washington, DC, 1996. [361.602 PEA] "Pre-departure checklist, etc." Chapters on "Health and Safety", "Personal and Financial Matters"; "Travel Information"; "Volunteer Assignments Overseas"; etc.
Culture Matters: The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbook. Washington, D.C,: The Corps. U.S.G.P.O. Supt. Of Docs 1997. [361.3 CUL] "…contains a variety of exercises for you to react to." "…help you to function outside the script to understand the values and beliefs behind behavior and ultimately, how the local people think.”
Looking At Ourselves And Others. Washington, DC: Peace Corps, World Wise Schools:USGPO, Supt. Of Docs. 1998. For grades 3-12. "…introduces students to the concepts of perspective, culture, and cross-cultural relations."
To Touch The World: The Peace Corps Experience. Washington, DC. USGPO, 1995.
At Home In The World: The Peace Corps Story. Peace Corps, Washington, DC. USGPO, 1996.
Peace Corps: The Great Adventure. Peace Corps, Washington, DC. USGPO, 1997, 1999.
Volunteer stories of life overseas.
Books About The Peace Corps Experience By RPCVs
OCPL has many books written by RPCVs, most non-fiction,
a few fiction. See included section on Subject Headings for help to locate them. For a larger selection, visit online:
"In Their Own Words: Books About the Peace Corps Experience by Those Who Served as Peace Corps Volunteers"
See the Pathfinder for the National Peace Corps Association.
For an index to articles on the Peace Corps, see OCPL’s Online Databases. Here you can access magazine and journal articles, newspapers, and reference books 24 hours a day using your OCPL library card.
Peace Corps Response
Formerly Crisis Corps.
Sends RPCVs, for short stays, to countries beset by emergency situations: earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.
National Peace Corps Week
Annually in February/March, designated to celebrate Peace Corps work overseas and, with the National Peace Corps Association, to share RPCV experiences thru presentations in schools, community centers and places of worship.
Paul D. Coverdell World Wise Schools Program
Links U.S. teachers with Volunteers overseas thru a Correspondence Match program to share Peace Corps experiences through email corespondence.
Peace Corps Speakers Match
In cooperation with the National Peace Corps Association, to provide an RPCV to speak to your group about his/her experiences. Call: 1-800-424-8580 or by e-mail: wwsinfo@peacecorps.gov
Peace Corps Partnership Program
Enables individuals, schools, service organizations, religious groups, and RPCV groups to raise money and make contributions to community development projects of current PCVs. (see local resources for an example)
A Peace Corps recruiter is at Syracuse University / State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SU / SUNY ESF). Call: 315-470-6678
Corcoran/Roberts Partnership Program
Rochester RPCV group
National Peace Corps Association
Local RPCV groups can be found thru the NPCA (see Local Resources above).
National Peace Corps Association
Activities, resources for RPCVs.