2007.02.18: February 18, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Russia: COS - Morocco: Writing - Morocco: Washington Post: Washington Posts reviews "River of No Reprieve" by Jeffrey Tayler
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2007.02.18: February 18, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Russia: COS - Morocco: Writing - Morocco: Washington Post: Washington Posts reviews "River of No Reprieve" by Jeffrey Tayler
Washington Posts reviews "River of No Reprieve" by Jeffrey Tayler
Tayler does so many things well here. There's the compelling man-vs.-nature angle, of course, but even in this most isolated land are stories of people -- the gulag prisoners from various political persecutions of the past, the beautiful women and vodka-marinated men of today's Siberia. To Vadim's annoyance, Tayler stops at each village to talk, noting the "pride Russians often take in showing foreigners that no one, but no one, could live worse than they." As Tayler shows, they make a good case. Jeffrey Tayler served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco. He has published numerous articles in Atlantic Monthly, Spin, Harper's and Condé Nast Traveler and is a regular commentator on NPR's "All Things Considered.
Washington Posts reviews "River of No Reprieve" by Jeffrey Tayler
ROAD READS
"River of No Reprieve" by Jeffrey Tayler
Sunday, February 18, 2007; Page P02
BOOK: "River of No Reprieve" by Jeffrey Tayler (Houghton Mifflin, $24)
TARGET AUDIENCE: People who think "away from it all" means Ocean City.
Tayler on Siberia's Lena River: "Its shores have known no chronicler, its villages no hallower in verse, its deeds and deaths no novelist." Well, until now. Tayler ("Angry Wind"; "Glory in a Camel's Eye") travels the Lena, northward from Russia's Lake Baikal region, 2,400 miles through forests and tundra, across the Arctic Circle to the Arctic Ocean. And often at great peril, in a 17-foot inflatable raft, accompanied only by his wilderness-wise but misanthropic guide, Vadim.
Tayler does so many things well here. There's the compelling man-vs.-nature angle, of course, but even in this most isolated land are stories of people -- the gulag prisoners from various political persecutions of the past, the beautiful women and vodka-marinated men of today's Siberia. To Vadim's annoyance, Tayler stops at each village to talk, noting the "pride Russians often take in showing foreigners that no one, but no one, could live worse than they." As Tayler shows, they make a good case. -- Jerry V. Haines
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Headlines: February, 2007; RPCV Jeffrey Tayler (Morocco); Figures; Peace Corps Russia; Directory of Russia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Russia RPCVs; Peace Corps Morocco; Directory of Morocco RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Morocco RPCVs; Writing - Morocco
When this story was posted in March 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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Story Source: Washington Post
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