Formed 50 years ago, in 1961, the Peace Corps sends American volunteers to serve at the grassroots level in villages and towns across the globe to meet its three-point legislative mandate of promoting world peace and friendship by improving the lives of those they serve, helping others understand American culture, and sharing their experiences with Americans back home. To date, nearly 200, 000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in 139 countries. This book examines the Peace Corps, with a focus on the problems of safety and security for its volunteers worldwide and the challenges facing the organization to remain relevant and productive for the next fifty years.