All You Need Is Love: The Peace Corps and the Spirit of the 1960s

by Elizabeth Cobbs

The nation was powerful and prosperous, the president was vigorous and young, and a confident generation was gathering its forces to test the New Frontier. The cold war was well under way, but if you could just, as the song went, "put a little love in your heart," then "the world would be a better place." The Peace Corps, conceived in the can-do spirit of the sixties, embodied America's long pursuit of moral leadership on a global scale. Traversing four decades and three continents, this story of the Peace Corps and the people and politics behind it is a fascinating look at American idealism at work amid the hard political realities of the second half of the twentieth century. More than any other entity, the Peace Corps broached an age-old dilemma of U.S. foreign how to reconcile the imperatives and temptations of power politics with the ideals of freedom and self-determination for all nations. All You Need Is Love follows the struggle to balance the tensions between these values from the Corps' first heady days under Sargent Shriver and beyond to the questioning years of the Vietnam War, when the Peace Corps was accused of being window dressing for imperialism. It follows the Peace Corps through the years when volunteering dropped off--and finally into its renewed popularity amid the widespread conviction that the Peace Corps preserves the nation's finest traditions. With vivid stories from returned volunteers of exotic places and daunting circumstances, this is an engrossing account of the successes and failures of this unique governmental organization, and of the geopolitics and personal convictions that underpin it. In the end, the question that is most compelling is whether the Peace Corps most helped the countries that received its volunteers, or whether its greater service was to America and its sense of national identity and mission.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, College, American History, Read For School

318 pages, Hardcover

First published May 6, 1998

Reviews

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as research for my autobiography. It is a history of the Peace Corps from its beginning as a program created by President John F Kennedy in 1961 through to the late 1990s. The Peace Corps is still going today though we don't hear much about it. After finishing the book I discovered that they have a presence on Twitter and now follow their posts there.

The book is good thorough history. It tracks the political scene all through the years covered, as the organization was built, and as changing times had their effects on the Peace Corps in its attempts to live up to American ideals.

Though sometimes a bit dry, I made it through the book at my usual non-fiction reading pace of 10 pages a day, finishing it in a month.

Of course I was aware of the Peace Corps during my high school and college years, but I was more aware of Civil Rights and the Vietnam War. I was strongly in favor of the first and rabidly against the second. Back then I thought I was "with it" but looking back now, I was in truth quite unsavvy when it came to politics. Most of what I knew came from radical friends. This book was like a crash course in what I had missed and dove-tailed nicely with the biographies of JFK, LBJ and MLK I have read over the past few years.

I find it odd that I never knew personally a single Peace Corps Volunteer and have still never met one to this day.

Reading the book made me rather sad about the lost idealism of the 1960s. Despite our current cynicism about the world, I think many boomers still wish we could get that spirit back. It got me wondering if the Cold War and all that has followed was not so much a political and ideological fight but a financial conflict between the "haves" and the "have nots" of the world. Certainly the "haves" hold the power with no intention of letting go or sharing or helping if that means giving up an inch of that power.

I recommend the book to anyone grappling with ideas, politics, the uses of power, and what that means for the future.

Were you ever a Peace Corps Volunteer or have you ever known one?

[Kressel Housman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was led to this book by two paths, both of which trace to the two books I read prior to this one. The simpler path is from the book I read immediately before. It was a historical novel by the same author, so I wanted to check out some of her non-fiction. But of all her other books, the reason I chose her history of the Peace Corps is that a key figure in its founding was also featured in If Then. He was one of the co-authors of The Ugly American, which I read years ago and which informed JFK's vision of the Peace Corps. He was in If Then because he was a founder of the Simulatics Corporation, which explores a much shadier part of the 60's than the idealistic Peace Corps. To make a long story short, I found this book because my two most recent reads converged, one from its author and the other from its subject. I love when that happens.

But the truth is, I'd be naturally attracted to the subject of the Peace Corps anyway. When I was a high school student, and even an early-years college student, I used to aspire to join the Peace Corps. It was only until reading this book that I realized why. The Peace Corps had a great marketing campaign behind it, and the 1978 ad slogan, "The toughest job you'll ever love," really stuck. But also as a result of reading this book, I'm convinced that I would have been one of the rejects. It's fair to say I was almost "pre-rejected" when someone pointed out that the Peace Corps needed builders, not dreamy philosophy majors like myself. That trend, too, was very much part of the Peace Corps' history. When JFK founded it, young idealists were embraced, but by the time Nixon got through with the program (and the country), it was a shadow of what it used to be.

History buffs will like this book, but I'm not so sure about anyone else. The stories of the daily life of volunteers were full of human interest, and they were certainly my favorite part, but there were some dry parts, too. It's still worth making the effort. If the U.S. really is entering a more progressive phase, then it would be nice to see some of that 1960's idealism have a resurgence. The author makes her case well: the ideals of the Peace Corps really are what's best about America.

[Fish · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a young teacher wrestling with the possibility of joining the Peace Corps in the next few years, this was a very useful read. The book deals with the history of the Peace Corps through the first Bush administration in depth, and fairly even handedly (without any marked political bias for or against the major US political parties who have shaped the program). The main crux of Hoffman's investigation deals with the competing views of the Peace Corps as a tool of neo-colonialsim, or alternatively, as a genuine expression of democratic ideals. Her conclusion seems to be that there is no clear conclusion yet. The Peace Corps continues to opperate alongside other similar international volunteer organizations under similar ideological and political constraints and with the same looming criticisms of those who are opposed to the programs of neo-colonialism practiced by developed nations all over the world in the present.

Hoffman maintains that regardless of any overall transformative effects of the organization which largely remain to be seen (though you might argue that events such as the collapse of the Soviet Union might ultimately be traced to the actions of programs like the Peace Corps), the Peace Corps has historically been a place for idealists of all stripes to hone their senses of identity through sustained action (i.e. hard work).

Again, a very good guide for those weighing the possibility of joining the Peace Corps.

[Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a RPCV who has read a few books about Peace Corps, I thought this book did a great job really focusing on the roots and beginning of PC. It also did a really good job tying Peace Corps into other developments and similar programs that started around the same time. I was familiar with VSO, but not the other programs. I would have liked if it had a bit more insight from PCVs about their experiences in the field (it of course had some, but it really focused on only a couple of PCVs in any more detail than a sentence or two). I think the book could be a bit confusing for those coming with no experience with PC, but in general I don't think it was overly technical. Overall a great book that focused heavily on one specific time period in Peace Corps.

[Kaleb Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

All You Need is Love is, as is mentioned in other reviews, very obviously written by a professor. The text is dense, the information is thorough, and the chapters go slow. However, amongst the verbose storytelling are occasionally eloquent quotes, inspiring stories (especially for current PCVs), and useful information.

[Billy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman’s All You Need is Love reveals the idealistic notions of a pre-ironic America. The Peace Corps were not simply a campaign promise for young voters, nor were they simply a Cold War diplomatic mission. The Peace Corps were a genuine humanitarian effort with global implications. Proposed by Kennedy in San Francisco and first led by Sargent Shriver, the Peace Corps were a genuine attempt to spread secular American goodwill. This program stood in stark opposition to the specialized, Cold War American opportunism of The Quiet American. Peace Corp volunteers were not specialists but good-willed humanitarians with little political agenda. In time, the CIA attempted to infiltrate the Peace Corps for to shape third world politics. With little loosely defined goals, the Peace Corps spead goodwill and American enthusiasm, but rarely shaped their regions for the positive. When LBJ took over the reigns, good will was set aside for traditional, American technocratic deisgns for tangible improvements in infrastructure. Over time, well-meaning teachers were held to these American standards; teaching left to tangible mark of American improvement, but a new damn or well would. In short, the Peace Corps stand as a testament to the flow of the 1960s. It began with good, honest intentions, but by the rise of Richard Nixon, was compromised beyond all belief.

By the Kennedy years, advertisers had taken racial and ethnic differences into consideration (compare with Advertising the American Dream); Art Linkletter’s House Party featured white children who would receive a prize for answering questions. One show, black children participated and received shoe shine kits and were told to go out an make some money. Kennedy aligned with TV, making 1960 a pivotal year for TV and politics. Politicians would learn from Kennedy and adopt TV as the medium of choice. TV was the medium by which Kennedy pushed his new frontier agenda. The FCC was also changing at this time, as was primetime programming. Comparisons with Same Time, Same Station and Tube of Plenty show a shift away from quiz shows and towards more sitcoms. Civil Rights struggles were made on Television (you have an essay on this). The turning point for television occurred on May 9, 1961 with Newton N. Minow’s “Vast Wasteland” speech. The FCC changed drastically under his guidance. Live presidential conferences began with Kennedy and Nixon. Jacqueline Kennedy’s “Tour of the White House” aired on all three networks. When Kennedy confronted George Wallace regarding the University of Alabama, all parties agreed to be filmed. This was the peak of documentary filmmaking. By the 1960s, over fifty million Americans owned TV sets. Their goal was entertainment. Prime time programming of the three exlusive networks reflected this. Minow himself observed that television was filled with game shows, violence, audience participation shows, formulaic comedies, westerns, gangsters and cartoons. Minow aimed to clean up television’s “vast wasteland.” (Compare with Tube of Plenty and Same Time, Same Station.”

TV exposed non-readers (not illiterate, just inactive) to politics through its specials. Kennedy’s struggle with civil rights is one example. Trumping Wallace, Kennedy announced to the nation THROUGH TV and not radio that “those who do nothing [about racism:] are inviting shame as well as violence.” (Compare with Cold War and the Color Line). Another is the coverage of civil rights struggles in Selma, Alabama. Police recognized the impact of TV and waited until the streetlights went out to beat protesters.

[Clif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best part: the CIA tries to infiltrate the Peace Corps so that they can send undercover operatives into the program to spy/kill/etc in third world countries (especially those with commie leanings), but ol Shriver stops them dead in their tracks!


Or did he...

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a professor, like a professor. Sometimes a bit over-researched (dropping a lot of names of various people, talking a lot about other countries' volunteer programs, etc.).

Several chapters were certainly worth reading though (coming from a PCV), so I'd generally recommend it.

[Ali Crain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting insight in to how and why the Peace Corps was formed, the struggles it went through in the first 20 years and why it's still a needed organization. Great read for anyone considering becoming a PC volunteer

[Jaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-researched and historically unique. A good read for anyone interested in, in, or has been in the Peace Corps.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't quite finish this one before I left town, but the 90% I read was good. Highly informative, but not the easiest book to read. Very dense on the details and academic language.