As a newly-minted physician in 1963, the author was assigned to Bolivia by the U.S. Public Health Service. His job was to attend to the health needs of some 200 American Peace Corps volunteers scattered across Bolivia's vast and dramatic countryside, which ranged from towering Andean mountain peaks to the dense tropical rain forest of the Amazon basin. His Bolivia experiences and responsibilities contrasted sharply with his previous year as a medical intern at Charity Hospital, New Orleans. Cuentos Bolivianos captures memories of challenging adventures and experiences that included confronting an outbreak of deadly Typhus Fever, witnessing outlawed battles among indigenous warriors, helping a child with a severe deformity become normal, dealing with a serious tropical disease caused by an "impolite" bug, and participating in a near civil war confrontation when American hostages were seized by militant miners.