Official Review: My Development Experiences in Asia, Afri...

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CataclysmicKnight
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Official Review: My Development Experiences in Asia, Afri...

Post by CataclysmicKnight »

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "My Development Experiences in Asia, Africa and the Americas" by Christopher J. Roesel.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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I've always been fascinated by the idea of going overseas to help impoverished countries. I've heard stories in church, but My Development Experiences in Asia, Africa and the Americas by Christopher (Chris) J. Roesel is the most in-depth look I've ever had at what it's actually like in some of these countries and the challenges they face. The nonfiction book is rather short - less than 75 pages in total - but full of information that's fantastic for anyone who would want to go overseas and give aid. Even for those not so inclined (or capable), it's incredibly enlightening to see just how badly other people have it and just how lucky we really are.

As the title suggests, Chris has done work in many places around the world. I was surprised that this begins right at home to some extent - in Chris's childhood witnessing racism. Even after segregation ended, Chris points out that African Americans lived in much smaller homes, with their roads in far worse shape and typically without air conditioning.

When Chris goes to college, he ends up joining the Air Force Academy. His insight here is fantastic as well, with one of my favorite bits being how the military breaks soldiers down to rebuild them. This ends up seeming rather familiar when a visiting POW tells them how the Koreans brainwashed him by breaking him down and rebuilding him with a communistic mindset.

He ends up leaving the military and working overseas with various groups to improve conditions. He points out some rather frightening things our military has done in other countries (like inspiring and assisting in a coup or taking "terrorists" into helicopters and dropping them out if they don't answer questions) as well as just how badly off some countries are. A lot of these solutions to the well-being of other countries are very creative, and with Chris being in charge of many of them as the book goes on, it's fascinating to see how solutions are brainstormed and implemented. It's also rather amazing to see what causes things like incredibly high infant mortality rates or disease-related deaths. In one area, for example, they learned the reason many girls were dropping out of school was because they were needed at home to make long trips gathering water and bringing it home. By working on irrigation they fixed an issue that would otherwise seem entirely unrelated at the same time!

While I was a fan of the book itself, I did have one really odd issue with it - the use of bold text. Typically words are in bold when they're emphasized, but in this one it seemed the bold was applied to random words surrounding important words or phrases. Sometimes an entire line is in bold when only a few words should be, and sometimes those few words even continue onto another line so they aren't in bold themselves. It's a minor issue, but worth mentioning.

My Development Experiences in Asia, Africa and the Americas is definitely a book I'd suggest to anyone who is curious about what it's really like in other countries that are less well off than we are. It's definitely a book I'd suggest to those who want to go overseas and do work themselves, as there are several points in the book where Chris specifically mentions different planning methods and strategies. Overall, I'd give the book 3.5 stars if I could, but because some parts get a bit dry and it's just missing a little perfection (the bolding and a tiny bit of additional editing work), I'm giving it 3 out of 4 stars.

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My Development Experiences in Asia, Africa and the Americas
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Post by Heidi M Simone »

Another great review, CataclysmicKnight! This seems like a very inspirational read for those who like to help others less fortunate, which is such a great message. I applaud the author for giving his time in order to help others in need. Too bad about the errors here, but I'm glad that you were able to enjoy the read!
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Post by gali »

Sounds like a very inspiring read. Not my cup of tea, but it sounds like a good read for those planning following the footsteps of the author as it is full of information. Well done to the author for his work. Great job on the review!
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Post by Gravy »

Not really my type of book, but it makes a lot of good points.
Too bad about the odd bolding.
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Post by AA1495 »

Agree with your point about the use of bold text. Wish it was edited better. Thank You for the well written review!
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Post by mindyg123 »

What a great review. Congrats to the author for being BPTD. Seems like such an inspirational read and bless the author for caring enough about the people and planet to try to help.
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Post by ElizabethG »

Seems like an interesting story, but I'm sure I would also be distracted by the bad editing, since that is what I do for a living. Sometimes I wonder what makes a person want to go overseas to help instead of helping those in his own backyard. Maybe this will answer that.
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Post by Sarah_Khan »

Good job on the review. I typically don't read non-fiction so I don't think this is a book for me, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)
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Post by Strangerthanfiction »

Great review. I think that while this book would not really be my cup of tea, especially with the editing errors which tend to pull me out of a story, I do think that this is a great book for people interested in knowing what it's like to help less fortunate countries overseas.
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Post by Vulgate »

Great review and an interesting concept for a book. The bolding must get annoying though.
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Post by Celticlady »

This is definitely an interesting book based on your review. I find it remarkable that people can become volunteers and work with third world countries and people that have virtually nothing and that having clean water is the most important thing in their lives. Just goes to show how we take advantage of what we have been blessed with. Great review and thank you for sharing! Happy Holidays!
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Post by CrescentMoon »

This sounds so amazing. It's always nice to read about people doing such charitable work. Great review!
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Post by gaporter »

Very nice review. This book seems useful to anyone considering going overseas. What a strange editing error, though.
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Post by Utpal K Khot »

This is definitely for a certain section of people as all may not be readers of this genre. Congrats on being the BOTD
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Post by MarisaRose »

This is a great review! Great point about the "bold" words... seems like this one needs a little more editing. Thanks again for the honest review!
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