Lawrence Brane Siddall's memoir, "Two Years in Poland," is a valuable read on several fronts. At the most basic, it is good story telling, well written and easy to follow, a tale of one man's adventure learning a new culture and discovering inner resources that he may not have known he had before his epic journey to Swidnica, Poland. His 11 weeks of pre-service Peace Corps training, in which he made friends with fellow volunteers and lived with a host family, both eased the way into a new language and brought home the enormity of his two-year odyssey.

On another level the 256-page book book can be read as a primer for those who have contemplated joining the Peace Corps, especially those over the age of 50. Siddall, who volunteered from 1997 to 1999 following his retirement, was one of only 450 senior volunteers out of 6,500 worldwide. Age, however, didn't seem to be a factor in his position as a high school English teacher in the small Polish community. He was readily accepted by fellow volunteers and colleagues of all ages. Culture shock, however, hit on his first day in his new home when he learned that he had to not only arrange for but pay for his textbooks himself and would be teaching grammar as well as English, something he hadn't prepared for. Siddell learned to make his way in the classroom, dealing with too much talking among students and even cheating. In the end the experience enriched his life in ways he hadn't contemplated.

Throughout the narrative Siddell, who was born in China where his father was a medical missionary, intersperces flashbacks of other personal adventures, including an 11,000-mile trek from Europe to India in 1956 and other life experiences that led to his volunteer spirit and zest for living. (Pelham Springs Press, 2008, $16.95, paper)