What is Born in Kansas but Made in Africa about?
It is Mark G. Wentling’s memoir of 50 years of work and travel in Africa — from Peace Corps service to development and diplomatic posts — with one chapter for each country he lived in or visited.
Born in Kansas but Made in Africa
A travel memoir book cover for fifty years of service across Africa, from a Peace Corps volunteer who grew up on a Kansas farm. The map is the cover.
By Mark G. Wentling. Memoir cover design. Kindle.
An American Man’s Recollections of 50 Years in Africa
About the book
Born in Kansas but Made in Africa is a travel memoir by Mark G. Wentling. At 21 he left Wichita for the Peace Corps, and that first posting became five decades of development work and diplomacy across the African continent. The book gives one chapter to each country, from Togo and Gabon to Somalia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Kindle edition runs 463 pages and was published in July 2025. On Amazon it ranks in Central Africa Travel and Adventurer & Explorer Biographies.
A memoir book cover built around a map
Because the book moves country by country, the whole continent is the image: an old-map Africa in greens, golds, and reds on parchment. The two-part title sits above it in heavy green capitals — Kansas first, Africa second, the way the life ran.
A travel memoir cover has to promise a place before it promises a person. The map does that instantly, and the earthy palette keeps it warm and personal rather than academic.
A long memoir title that still works on Kindle
Long memoir titles are common, and they are hard to fit on a small cover. Here the title is split across two lines of heavy outlined capitals so each word stays legible on the Amazon search page. The subtitle and author name move to the foot, where they read on the product page without crowding the thumbnail.
Writing your own memoir? See how our memoir and ebook ghostwriting works, or start with a custom ebook cover.
Questions about this cover
Why use a map on a memoir book cover?
For a travel memoir, the place is the hook. A map tells readers the setting before they read a word, and it stays recognizable at thumbnail size. It also suits a book organized country by country.
Who designed the Born in Kansas but Made in Africa cover?
The cover was designed by the ebookwriters.us studio for author Mark G. Wentling. It is part of our published cover portfolio.