At the age of 48, Moritz Thomsen sold his pig farm and joined the Peace Corps. As he tells the story, his awareness of the comic elements in the human situation -- including his own -- and his ability to convey it in fast-moving, earthy prose have made Living Poor a classic.

"Hilariously funny at times, grimly sad at others and leavened with perceptive insights into the ways of the people and with breathtaking descriptions of the Ecuadorian landscape". -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch