Fieldwork, Flights, and F-ups (25 books)

Memoirs and nonfiction that trace the messy intersections of travel, humanitarian work, diplomacy, and global crisis. Stories of people who went abroad to do good (or understand something), and came back changed — or didn’t come back at all.

flag

All Votes Add Books To This List

1	Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures: A True Story From Hell On Earth by Kenneth Cain 4.08 avg rating — 4,626 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Backstabbing for Beginners: A Crash Course in International Diplomacy by Michael Soussan (Goodreads Author) 4.03 avg rating — 497 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout (Goodreads Author) 4.28 avg rating — 71,458 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	My Holiday in North Korea: The Funniest/Worst Place on Earth by Wendy E. Simmons (Goodreads Author) 3.67 avg rating — 2,499 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Desert Flower by Waris Dirie 4.24 avg rating — 40,340 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail by Jason De León (Goodreads Author) 4.55 avg rating — 2,166 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War by Peter Maass 4.38 avg rating — 1,518 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Eating Mud Crabs in Kandahar: Stories of Food during Wartime by the World's Leading Correspondents (California Studies in Food and Culture, 31) by Matt Mcallester 4.05 avg rating — 100 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman 3.84 avg rating — 17,726 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Out of Steppe: The Lost Peoples of Central Asia by Daniel Metcalfe 4.04 avg rating — 107 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	No Dancing, No Dancing: Inside the Global Humanitarian Crisis by Denis Dragovic 4.09 avg rating — 100 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	The Backpacker by John Harris 3.66 avg rating — 1,317 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	The Photographer by Emmanuel Guibert 4.31 avg rating — 4,013 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman (Goodreads Author) 3.86 avg rating — 23,866 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	A Life Inspired: Tales of Peace Corps Service by Jeff Fearnside (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World by Vincent Bevins (Goodreads Author) 4.61 avg rating — 15,776 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir by Samantha Power 4.34 avg rating — 19,699 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	A Memory of Solferino by Henry Dunant 3.90 avg rating — 421 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp by Ben Rawlence (Goodreads Author) 4.02 avg rating — 3,390 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	Chasing Chaos: My Decade In and Out of Humanitarian Aid by Jessica Alexander (Goodreads Author) 4.09 avg rating — 3,066 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder 4.20 avg rating — 88,045 ratings score: 80, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Bonobo Handshake: A Memoir of Love and Adventure in the Congo by Vanessa Woods (Goodreads Author) 4.01 avg rating — 2,033 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	It's Every Monkey for Themselves: A True Story of Sex, Love, and Lies in the Jungle by Vanessa Woods (Goodreads Author) 3.64 avg rating — 87 ratings score: 78, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	Radio Congo: Signals of Hope from Africa's Deadliest War by Ben Rawlence (Goodreads Author) 4.01 avg rating — 418 ratings score: 77, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	The Fog of Peace: A Memoir of International Peacekeeping in the 21st Century by Jean-Marie Guehenno 4.32 avg rating — 31 ratings score: 76, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars