Customer Reviews

Micronesian Blues: The Adventures of an American Cop in Paradise

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not only is this book a must for anyone interested in cross cultural policing, it is such an entertaining read that anyone wanting an exciting literary trip to a fascinating group of Islands would do well to pick it up. It reads like a novel- if I could give it ten stars I would.

I am a retired Police Offficer, who served most of his career as an undercover Narcotics Officer. I found Micronesian Blues to be entertaining, as well as an insightful training guide. This book should be a must for anyone who serves as a training officer in Law Enforcement. The unforseeable complications encountered by Vila and the resolution of them are idicative of problems encountered by all officers, anywhere.

Last year I was deployed to Afghanistan in the role of a mentor to the Afghan National Army. I wish I had read this book before I went; the lessons of cross cultural training are still relevant today. What's more it is a fun and easy read - a real page turner!

I spent 4 years teaching nursing in Micronesia from 1992-1996. All the strategies Bryan used to make his training and guidance for police relevant and culturally appropriate also work for health care workers. When I read this book I was so excited to see something written by someone who "got it" that you can't just take what you've learned in the US and use it without learning about the culture and considering how the information and strategies you want to share fit into the culture. To learn what fits you have join into the cultural activities. You must be a participant and that means trying new foods, learning to sit on the ground, understanding how to communicate most effectively, listening to what is important to the people you are with, acknowledging their cultural and disciplinary expertise and asking lots of questions. The activities Bryan participated in are similar to things I did that were crucial to my success in Micronesia and later in Peru and Malawi. I went with locals to local events and I ate whatever they served me (except Bat Soup - thank God no one ever offered that to me because adventurous as I am that one I just couldn't do- it's the fur!), however I tried many varieties of Betel, I danced and sang with the women and I learned to speak softly and move slowly. I also learned to listen and observe and to understand the value in the way people build societies, adapt to environment, and to changes from within and without. I have recommended this book to my students who want to be more culturally competent health care providers and I recommend it to anyone striving to work effectively across cultures.
If you have ever spent time in Micronesia and remember the people there with great fondness you will love the book and encounter people you know. The book will make you think, and it will make you laugh. Reading it made me yearn to go back and spend time in midst of the people and especially the nurses I came to love and admire.

I loved this book. This isn't a missionary tale or a national geographic special. Its a great story (though true) about the transition of a territory into independence through the eyes and humor of a Vietnam Vet, urban police officer turned ----well,something like Indiana Jones/diplomat/teacher.

I wish there was more, but I guess one can't get trilogies out of non fiction. Who knows, maybe Bryan Vila part II or the prequel. I'd read it!

My father served with the Australian Air Force during WW2 in the Pacific region. He returned to Australia and then served 20 years in the Victorian Police Force. He died at the early age of 45 years. I wish he had been alive to read Bryan Vila's book. Congratulations to Bryan and Cynthia for such a great read. Strangely with my past travels in Asia i can relate to this.

The authors paint a vivid and accurate picture of life in the former Trust Territories. As a Naval Investigative Service Special Agent assigned to Guam during this period, I experienced many of the same joys and frustrations while working with the various island police departments. The success of Dr. Vila and his colleagues in professionalizing the law enforcement systems of these very different cultures is a testament to their dedication and patience. They clearly recognized that high quality training is the "silver bullet" of law enforcement.

As a graduate student at Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice in the early 1970s, I was steeped in the lore of the school's controversial involvement in providing police administration training to the government of South Vietnam. The MSU group was well-funded but faced many of the same language and cultural differences encountered in Micronesia. Unfortunately, the effort in South Vietnam became mired in Cold War politics and other darker intrigues.

Dr. Vila provides a comprehensive outline for success that should be required reading for all U.S. law enforcement personnel currently involved in cross-cultural police training especially in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Because I have other weighty books to read I can allow myself only odd moments to read Micronesian Blues, but the book migrates around the house, because when I pick it up (in the loo, for instance)I find myself reading it back down the stairs and leaving it on the table on the way to my desk, where it just happens to be at hand when I'm eating, after which it somehow follows me back up the stairs. Several lovely ideas also follow me into other contexts, like the notion that Christ was once a corporal and that loud farts can have surprising consequences, something we've all discovered, and the general impression it leaves me with, after a chapter, is that I go on holiday several times a day and enjoy myself in a region I know from experience (well, Melanesia and Polynesia) without the time and expense. It's a very good read, on several fronts, well done Bryan and Cynthia.

Bryan Vila's story as told by Morris is not only an exciting and entertaining read but is also full of lessons and insights on culture differences. This is a fun, thrilling and educational read for anyone interested in learning about cross cultural training, police or otherwise.

This is an outstanding book and a very engaging read. The ten most important lessons noted in the postscript provide specific insights and approaches, valuable to cross-cultural police trainers worldwide. I strongly recommend this book to law enforcement and military professionals, students of political science, criminal justice and international policy.