American taboo : a murder in the Peace Corps

This has to be one of the most infuriating books I've ever read - not because of the book itself, but because of the story. It is impossible for me to comprehend the mindset of an American official who would prioritize the life of a man who murdered a fellow Peace Corps volunteer who rejected him sexually - stabbing her over and over - somehow after her death his life was the important one. Peace Corps higher ups protected the killer in ways too numerous to describe, her fellow volunteers slut shamed her, and there were no consequences. The Tongan government cared more about this young woman than her own country did. Her murderer was returned to the States where he worked for the Federal government until his retirement and her friends show more and family feared that they were in danger from him should they open up about events. A gigantic fault line appeared amongst the Tongan volunteers - those that were for him and those that were against him and an idealistic young woman was almost nowhere to be found after her murder.

The book itself is pretty basic reportage - nothing special - and that in its own way is as infuriating as its story, although its flatness certainly sharpens the horror. show less

The Peace Corps is not the benign enterprise as advertised. When one volunteer murders another on the remote island of Tonga, the machinery for a cover-up to protect the agency's image goes in motion. Twenty years afer the incident, the author tries to uncover the truth, but is stonewalled by a web of bureaucrats who were complicit in exculpating the killer. En route, he discovers the Peace Corps to be another corrupt, self-serving government entity committed to its own preservation, often at the expense of the people it is purportedly supposed to be serving. This is an infuriating account of injustice. It is well-written and has its elements of suspense, though on occasion it does get sidetracked in some areas that do not enrich the show more narrative. Even though it is non-fiction, I will not give away the ending, as Weiss tracks the killer and eventually confronts him. show less

I was very frustrated by the chapter Weiss wrote about his encounter with Priven. At the start, Priven took his conversation off the record. A huge reason why a number of people got involved with the book was so they could see Priven acknowledge what he had done, if not repent. Knowing that Priven got away with it from the beginning of the book, I wanted to see some effect on him. Some point where the truth of his actions stared him in the face. We don’t get that. Though, in a way, we got to see he was cold and calculating until the present day. He could stare the truth down and force Weiss into including but a shell of the scene we all wanted to see.