Suggested reading list

Thought I'd share this in case any potential PCV's ever bump into my blog:

Suggested Books to Prepare for Peace Corps


   General


So You Want to Join the Peace Corps: What to Know Before You Go by Dillon Banerjee

The Travelers' Guide to African Customs & Manners: How to converse, dine, tip, drive, bargain, dress, make friends, and conduct business while in sub-Saharan Africa by Elizabeth Devine & Nancy Braganti

The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski

The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith



   West Africa/Francophone Africa


Do They Hear You When You Cry by Fauziya Kassindja,

Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover

Somebody’s Heart Is Burning: A Woman Wanderer in Africa by Tanya Shaffer

King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Nine Hills to Nambonkaha by Sarah Erdman

Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway



Eastern/Southern Africa


Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller

The Power of One by Bryce Courtney

My Secret History by Paul Theroux

Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town by Paul Theroux

The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden

The Zanzibar Chest by Aiden Hartley

Love In The Driest Season: A Family Memoir by Neely Tucker

Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith

Any books by Nadine Gordimer



Books on HIV and AIDS


The Africa Placement Team has put together a list of suggested reading materials that we believe you will find both interesting and informative as you prepare for your tour of service. We encourage you in particular to become familiar with the growing AIDS pandemic in Africa. Peace Corps projects in all sectors are addressing the multitude of problems caused by the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.


Love in the Driest Season: A Family Memoir by Neely Tucker


Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village by Sarah Erdman


Global AIDS: Myths and Facts, Tools for Fighting the AIDS Pandemic by Alexander Irwin and Joyce Millen


The Skeptics Guide to the Global AIDS Crisis: Tough Questions, Direct Answers by Dale Hanson Bourke


A Generation at Risk: The Global Impact of HIV/AIDS on Orphans and Vulnerable Children by John G. Williamson, Geoff Foster, and Carol Levine


The AIDS Pandemic: Complacency, Injustice, and Unfulfilled Expectations by Michael Kirby and Larry O. Gostin


AIDS in the Twenty-First Century: Disease and Globalization by Tony Barnett and Alan Whiteside


Human Rights and Public Health in the AIDS Pandemic by Lawrence O. Gostin and Zita Lazzarini


Black Death: AIDS in Africa by Susan Hunter


A Broken Landscape: HIV & AIDS in Africa by Noerine Kaleeba, Reverend Gideon Byamugisha, and Gideon Mendel


Children Of Africa Confront AIDS: From Vulnerability To Possibility (Ohio RIS Africa Series) by Farid Esack, Arvind Singhal, and W. Stephen Howard


Children of AIDS: Africa's Orphan Crisis by Emma Guest


The First Year – HIV: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed by Brett Grodeck and Daniel S. Berger


Living Well with HIV and AIDS by Allen L. Gifford, Kate Lorig, Diana Laurent, and Virginia Gonzalez


AIDS Issues: A Handbook (Issues in Focus) by David E. Newton


A Woman's Guide to Living with HIV Infection (A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book) by Rebecca A. Clark, Robert T., Jr. Maupin, and Jill Hayes Hammer


Sustainability and Permaculture


Two Ears of Corn: A Guide to People-Centered Agricultural Improvement by Roland Bunch (Paperback - Jun 1995)


Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David Holmgren (Paperback - Dec 2002)


PERMACULTURE: A Designers' Manual by Bill Mollison and Reny Mia Slay (Hardcover - Oct 1, 1997)


Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway and John Todd (Paperback - April 2001)


Gardening


How to Grow More Vegetables: And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine by John Jeavons (Paperback - Mar 2002)


New Complete Guide to Gardening (Better Homes & Gardens (Paperback)) by Susan A. Roth and Better Homes and Gardens Books (Paperback - Sep 15, 2001)


Vegetable Gardening by Dean Johnson (VHS Tape)


Soil Erosion


Soil Erosion : Processes, Prediction, Measurement, and Control by Terrence J. Toy, George R. Foster, and Kenneth G. Renard (Hardcover - May 27, 2002)


Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming by John M. Laflen (Hardcover - May 24, 2000)


Forestry and Africa


Contesting Forestry in West Africa (Making of Modern Africa) by Reginald Cline-Cole (Hardcover - Dec 2000)


Tree planting practices in tropical Africa (FAO forestry development paper) (FAO forestry development paper) by M. S Parry (Unknown


Social forestry in West Africa: Myths and realities by Marilyn W Hoskins (Unknown Binding - Jan 1, 1982)


The 2000-2005 Outlook for Forestry and Woodworking in Africa by Inc. Icon Group International (Paperback - Jul 2001


Okay that didn't paste as well as I thought it would but I'm too lazy today to go back and fix it so you'll have to figure out what books are hidden in the wide spacing. Also here's a link to the Burkina Faso welcome book:

http://www.peacecorps.gov/welcomebooks/bfwb686.pdf

tons of info in there.