2006.10.11: October 11, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - China: Writing - China: Awards: Washington Post: Peter Hessler's Oracle Bones among National Book Awards Finalists
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2006.10.11: October 11, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - China: Writing - China: Awards: Washington Post: Peter Hessler's Oracle Bones among National Book Awards Finalists
Peter Hessler's Oracle Bones among National Book Awards Finalists
Author Peter Hessler served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in China.
Peter Hessler's Oracle Bones among National Book Awards Finalists
9/11, King Works Among Book Award Nominees
Fiction and Nonfiction Delve Into Terrorism, Iraq
By Linton Weeks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 12, 2006; Page C01
Historian Taylor Branch was on the road when he heard that his book, "At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68," had been named as a finalist for the 2006 National Book Awards. He received the nod yesterday for this, the third and last volume of his monumental biography of Martin Luther King Jr.
Branch, who lives in Baltimore, said he welcomed the honor. "I'm absorbed in the stories so much," he said, that the writing of history "is its own reward." But recognition from the National Book Foundation "draws attention to the lessons" in the history he is chronicling. "I'm just thrilled," he said from Springfield, Mass.
The first volume, "Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63," was nominated in 1989, but did not win. It did, however, cop the Pulitzer Prize.
"There are a handful of awards in our business that translate into sales," said Paul Bogaards, a spokesman for Alfred A. Knopf. "The National Book Award is one."
For unknown writers, such a stamp of approval can make a career. For someone like Branch, whose books already sell well, this is cake icing.
"We live in a culture where endorsement has meaning," Bogaards said. "A National Book Award nomination is a mark of distinction for a certain reader."
When the list of 20 finalists was announced yesterday, also included were two novels and a nonfiction book predicated on the events of 9/11 and a firsthand account of war-battered Baghdad.
"The judges were looking for the artistry in the narrative," said foundation Executive Director Harold Augenbraum, who was at City Lights Books in San Francisco, where Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti announced the roster.
[Excerpt]
In nonfiction: "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11" by Lawrence Wright; "The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl" by Timothy Egan; "Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present" by Peter Hessler; and "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone," by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, who was The Washington Post's bureau chief in Baghdad in 2003 and 2004 and is now assistant managing editor for continuous news.
When this story was posted in October 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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 | Harris Wofford to speak at "PC History" series Senator Harris Wofford will be the speaker at the 4th Annual "Peace Corps History" series on November 16 sponsored by the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Maryland Returned Volunteers. Previous speakers in the series have included Jack Vaughn (Second Director of the Peace Corps), Scott Stossel (Biographer of Sargent Shriver), and C. Payne Lucas (President Emeritus of Africare). Details on the time and location of the event are available here. |
 | Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
 | He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
 | Chris Shays Shifts to Favor an Iraq Timetable In a policy shift, RPCV Congressman Chris Shays, long a staunch advocate of the Bush administration's position in Iraq, is now proposing a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops. How Mr. Shays came to this change of heart is, he says, a matter of a newfound substantive belief that Iraqis need to be prodded into taking greater control of their own destiny under the country’s newly formed government. As Chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, he plans to draft a timetable for a phased withdrawal and then push for its adoption. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War who said that if drafted he would not serve, Chris Shays has made 14 trips to Iraq and was the first Congressman to enter the country after the war - against the wishes of the Department of Defense. |
 | Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
 | The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
 | PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
 | History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
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Story Source: Washington Post
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - China; Writing - China; Awards
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