Here's what people are saying about Micronesian Blues:


"Anyone involved in or concerned about policing in Afghanistan or Pakistan should read Micronesian Blues to understand just how hard it is. Bryan Vila's lessons learned, derived from hard experience, apply in these countries as much as they did in Micronesia: make a sustained commitment, choose the right trainers and trainees, understand language and culture, and above all appreciate that change takes time."

-  Ryan Crocker, Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq
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“Micronesian Blues is a must read for every cop and soldier involved in training police abroad. The anecdotes and lessons learned are as relevant today as they were 25 years ago, and the writing is crisp, direct, effective and entertaining.”

-  David H. Bayley, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice at the State University of New York, Albany, and author of Changing the Guard: Developing Democratic Police Abroad
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“Flawless! Bryan Vila provides an engrossing account of his adventures starting up police agencies in Micronesia as well as key insights into cross-cultural law enforcement training. Micronesian Blues is the book I wish I had read prior to my deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Vila’s lessons learned are spot on, as are the policy prescriptions that flow from them.”

-  Major Joe Hansen, OIF I, OEF VII. Former Battery Commander and Civil Military Advisor, 3BCT/10th Mountain Division, Dara Pech district, Kunar Province, Afghanistan
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Micronesian Blues 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.”

-  George K. Roberts, Special Agent (Ret.), U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service
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"An engaging and personal insight into crime and culture in the Pacific tropics we tend to imagine as idyllic."

-  Bing West, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan Administration and author of The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq
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"Bryan Vila spent six years training police in a foreign culture, giving him a unique perspective on how to make international police training effective. As a result, the stories in Micronesian Blues aren't just entertaining--they're insightful, and should be required reading for anyone thinking about undertaking such work."

-  Harvey Hedden, Executive Director, International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association
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"...a funny, breezy, richly anecdotal account of a cross-cultural adventure. I found it that most elusive of manuscripts -- a page-turner."

-  Police Chief Anthony V. Bouza (Ret.), Minneapolis, and author of The Police Mystique and Police Unbound
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"Bryan Vila offers brilliant insights into the challenges and rewards of international police advising and training, with spot-on recommendations for making those challenges work. Micronesian Blues should be required reading for everyone involved in the business of international policing -- including policy-makers in Washington, D.C., private subcontractors, police operators and trainers working overseas, and the military officers who work with them. It's also a great read for anyone who just likes a good travel adventure."

-  Alexis Artwohl, Ph.D., Internationally Recognized Police Trainer/Consultant and co-author of Deadly Force Encounters
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"Micronesian Blues is an engaging read with important cultural insights. The authors demonstrate that by listening and familarising themselves to cultural nuances, law enforcement officers will be granted deep access to the communities they serve. The ten lessons at the end of the book are a great template for future humanitarian endeavours."

-  Dr. Kriton Glenn, De-escalation/Cross Cultural Specialist and Director of Cross Agency Projects, Australia
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"Micronesian Blues offers a rare insight into U.S. efforts to assist emerging countries with developing their own professional democratic police forces, why this work is so important, and how understanding the culture of the host country can impact the potential success of a training program. Micronesian Blues is also laced with humor and the excitement of facing danger in a foreign country -- and Vila's personal commitment to the mission and the people of Micronesia shines through."

-  David Butzer, Assistant Chief of Police (Ret.) and International Policing Consultant
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"Micronesian Blues is a thoroughly entertaining read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to understand what it takes to be an effective police officer, trainer, or leader. Many of the lessons Bryan Vila learned about policing during his six years in Micronesia apply to community policing and police training here in the U.S. given our increasingly diverse and complex nation, just as much as they do to cross-cultural police training assignments abroad."

-  Gregory B. Morrison, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Ball State University, Former Senior Instructor at Jeff Cooper's American Pistol Institute, and author of The Modern Technique of the Pistol
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"Micronesian Blues offers a compelling and engrossing portrait of how people with intellectual curiosity, a spirit of service, and a willingness to learn on the fly can make a difference. Bryan Vila's stories of his experiences doing police work in the South Pacific and his presentation of the lessons he has drawn from them provide intriguing insights into what our nation can do to assist the development of sound police services around the globe."

-  David A. Klinger, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Senior Research Scientist at the Police Foundation in Washington, D.C., and author of Into the Kill Zone: A Cop's Eye View of Deadly Force
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"Cross-cultural police training is happening today at an unprecedented rate -- in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other global hot spots.  A postscript lays out Vila's thoughts on the value of cross-cultural police development in the service of international reconstruction efforts.  It isn't every day that lessons are presented in such a wildly entertaining way!"

-  Barbara Lloyd McMichael, Pacific Northwest columnist known as The Bookmonger
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"Vila and co-author Cynthia Morris have produced a highly entertaining and instructive book called Micronesian Blues, recounting his experiences in training native troops in Micronesia, a collective of some 2,000 tiny islands scattered in the western Pacific between Hawaii and Japan."

-  Charles Remsberg, Senior Contributor for PoliceOne.com and author of Blood Lessons.
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