In Search of the Elusive Peace Corps Moment: Destination: Estonia

By Douglas Wells

Book Overview

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT In Search of the Elusive Peace Corps Moment "HILARIOUS!!" -Kim Brant, Valley Village, California "The most delightful thing I have read in years, maybe longer" -Mikk... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0738865435
• ISBN13: 9780738865430
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Xlibris
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

This Book is a must read

I absolutely loved this book. Douglas Wells has a true Midwestern Charm about him that makes this book irresistable. I bought this book and figured I would save it for some summer reading on the farm. But sitting in my dorm I decided I wanted to glimpse over the first chapter and I couldn't put it down. I couldn't even study for my finals and all my friends were asking to borrow it because I seemed to enjoy it so much. Douglas Wells talks about his sometime arrogant views of Russians, falling in Love, and the frustration of the Peace Corps. He has some memorable stories about the first time he drank the local beer, sauna trips, and uncovering a lost bells from the WW2 era. A postive book about a Peace Corps experience and a real page turn. Might not change your life or rock your world but it will make you laugh and make you want to tell your friends some of his stories.

Surprisingly good

This is a self-published book and I wasn't expecting much. I was really pleasantly surprised. Each chapter is a vignette from Douglas's life on Hiiumaa. The writing is good, the editing is crisp, the stories are funny. I think the book says more about Estonia, and about the period just after the events of 1989/1991, than it does about the Peace Corps. I spent quite a bit of time in the Baltics and Russia during the same years as Douglas. For me the book captured the flavor of these times very well.

The best inspiration yet to join the Peace Corps

Nonfiction is usually a gamble at best. Not with Mr. Wells' book. As a returned Peace Corps volunteer, I have constantly looked for any kind of book that would make me remember back to my time spent abroad and conjure up the unique feelings of pride and worth that typically come with a Peace Corps assignment. This is the first book that has really made me dig into my memory and cherish all of those Peace Corps moments once again. Rather than dwelling on some self absorbed search for inner meaning that can usually lead to a way too subjective and personal point of view, Mr. Wells instead chose the more entertaining route of simply telling stories. True stories that are humorous and bring out the character of the country and the locals that he had interacted with. I too married a young local lady as a Peace Corps volunteer, and Mr. Wells' sections on the courting of his wife are both sentimental and hilarious at the same time. If you are thinking of joining the Peace Corps but have not yet made the decision, read this book and it will make up your mind for you. If you are a returned Peace Corps volunteer who wants to relive the wonderful frustrations and numerous treasured moments that all volunteers take home with them in their hearts forever, this book will rekindle those fires. I thought I would be disappointed with this book, but it was an unexpected and wonderful surprise.

Now I know...

...why our family did so many of the things we did while growing up in New York. As the son of two first generation Estonian immigrants, not only was this one of the most entertaining books I have ever read (I laughed out loud constantly), but it gave me a lot of objective insight into what the Estonian culture is really like, from a first-hand, American point of view.Douglas Wells does a fantastic job telling stories. Every chapter held my curiosity from the get-go. I have already recommended this book to many of my friends and will continue to do so. My sincerest thank you to Mr. Wells for providing me these hours of pleasure!

Fantastic book

What a great book! Almost every Peace Corps Volunteer wants to write about their experience. A few succeed in writing their book, but Douglas Wells has succeeded in writing a great book. He has a unique sense of irony which make for a very entertaining read, while at the same time you really feel for him as he struggles to make good as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Irony is not Wells' only gift. He is also extremely thoughtful and insightful, which give the entire book the sense that you are peaking into someone's personal diary. The themes, however, are universal to the Peace Corps experience. When he compares the stunned look on the Estonians' faces when he begins to address them in their native language to Planet of the Apes, (the original, not the Mark Wahlberg remake) when the simians first learn that Charlton Heston can speak...I don't think there are many Peace Corps Volunteers who can not relate to this. Yet only Douglas Wells would have ever come up with such a comparison.This book is a great read for anyone interested in what the Peace Corps Experience is really like. Also a very good read for those interested in Estonia.