Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Lessons and Laughs from an Overseas Officer

by Todd Millick

Nasty, Brutish, and Short is a collection of irreverent essays about life overseas. The author no longer has to hold his tongue about his experiences—which means it’s payback time. He now speaks his mind about all the strange people and places he has encountered around the world over the last twenty years.

And he takes the reader on a funny and endearing jaunt to a dozen countries, from England to Egypt, and Afghanistan to Haiti, answering crucial questions like Why are Pakistani driving ranges so dangerous? And, How long can Bulgarians actually hold a grudge?

Unlike other foreign travel books, the author isn’t just passing through. He has lived in these dangerous and difficult places, often for years at a time. He knows their people, streets, and customs like the back of his hand. It was part of his job. Sometimes his life depended on it.

Genres: Travel

170 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2016

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant literature adventure! I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start finish. An easy, enjoyable read, author Todd Millick has a knack for writing in a detailed, descriptive manner that gives the reader a sense of connection with the far away lands he describes.

I particularly enjoyed the Chapter on England where he provides a comparison of several countries and the motivations for how and why they drink. Thank you Todd for sharing your book with me. I am inspired to continue my own travel around the world and will do so with a refreshing new change in perspective.

[Suki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a different kind of travelogue, showing the grimier side of other countries. No glowing tourist guide here. Each chapter starts with the premise that “You think X about country Y” and then demonstrates how you're wrong. This approach is funny and interesting in some chapters, but in others comes across as condescending. Not everyone lives in a gilded cage in the US. The most interesting parts were the anecdotes from people living in those countries, and I wish there had been more of those.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in a Goodread's giveaway.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this as a Goodreads give-away book and really enjoyed it. Millick's breezy, humorous snapshots of the various countries in which he served are amusing and interesting. It left me wanting more in-depth descriptions and serious insights, but as Millick cautions in his preface, that is not his objective. The citizens of the countries he describes might be outraged over his cynical views on their respective cultures, but he is conveying the honest, first-person impressions of an American ex-pat who spent a significant amount of time in diverse countries. He vividly describes the fascinating aspects of these countries and how his feelings often changed over time. Millick concludes that these experiences have enriched and enlightened him in countless ways and also make him appreciate his home country that much more each time when he "comes home."

[☘Tara Sheehan☘ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never before read such an amazingly powerful book about someone else’s journey through various countries and cultures. The way Todd Millick was able to create actual personalities for Bulgaria, Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, Romania and Algeria you would think these are the names of people instead of places.

Bulgaria became the bad girl lover that would scare the crap out of your mom when she shows up looking a bit on the Kurt Cobain style grunge side but actually had one of those tortured artist souls which could find the beauty where others only saw brokenness.

Chad is the smelly, geeky kid standing on the sidelines begging someone to pick him to play flag football but all people can see are the negatives. They miss out on the determination and drive that will push him to succeed, if only by an inch, but never will settle for last place.

Admittedly, as a woman, it was harder for me to read about Afghanistan because of the decidedly and intentionally created anti-female culture. The fact that men can’t exist without women and would die out completely within a century making our gender quite important seems to have escaped them. I did love reading about the varied environments from the unending amounts of sand to mountain filled green hills. It reminded me a bit of Texas in that you get nearly every type of landscape within one geographic boundary.

I think I would endure sensory overland in Egypt with its reliance on using noise, and loudly with lots of it, to communicate. I’m better in silence, even dog barks make my spine curl up on itself. I get road rage just driving in DFW, I’m pretty sure I’d be on the news for turning their traffic jams into a session of extreme bumper cars.

Pakistan scared me. I had this image in my head of the monster under your bed who moved his cousin into your closet so nowhere in your room is safe. I have a lot of respect though for their family oriented culture.

Algeria definitely reminded me of the major metro areas in Texas as there are vast tracts of undeveloped land, which I love, but that also means you squeeze millions of people into 4 basic areas: Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas-Ft Worth which even though is technically two cities really is just one gigantic circle that feeds off each other. Of course there is the far west, east and north side but the center is where all the action is at. In describing how they handle terrorist attacks it really puts American reactions, particularly lately in perspective.

Millick’s writing takes humor to a whole new level as he uses descriptions about countries that immediately bring to life images of embarrassing cousins you hope never to admit publicly a DNA similarity to or roll your eyes at American misconceptions of everything outside its own borders. From page one I began feeling homesick for the greater world as I have apparently been inside the US geographic lines too long.

Reading his impressions reminded me of the first time I stood inside Bosnia while looking over Croatia and realized that despite all the wars which get fought there is no visible line to show you where one side ends and the other begins. We may have maps, Google Earth and GPS systems that insist a line is drawn down the land to ensure ownership but when you’re standing there it doesn’t exist.

The world is so much more of everything, more beautiful, more complicated, more intriguing than what many believe. Millick reminds you of that the deeper you get into his book.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book. It’s a beautiful (and funny) account about an often ugly world. And so different from more PC-type travel memoirs. Look at the reviews from those who missed the point. If you’re sick of them, you’ll love this book. It’s a breath of fresh air.

[Verne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most books about life in other countries fall into one of two categories: one, the travelog or two, the journey of self exploration that just happens to take place overseas (Tuscany, Provence.) These books are good (and often excellent) for what they are, but they never really give you a feel for what it is like to live in a country. When you find one that does (like Tim Macintosh Smith’s immortal Travels in Dictionary Land, or Stephen Clarke’s A Year in the Merde) they are something special.

Nasty, Brutish and Short, Todd Millick’s first book of prose, does a nice job of sharing the feeling of living as an expatriate in a number of countries, including some that are often overlooked: Bulgaria, Romania, Pakistan, Haiti, to name a few. Millick brings to bear his personal brand of curmudgeonry on the many countries he has called home. His clean writing style showcases his ironic wit, as well as some genuine affection for a wide variety of cultures.

I found his first hand accounts of living in Egypt during its recent revolution particularly entertaining. He brings to life the essential strangeness of trying to live a normal life while the world around you is turned on its head. While Americans watched the people of Cairo gathering in Tahrir Square to cast off a dictator, Millick was living a few streets away trying to figure out how to simply buy milk and eggs. He gives you a first hand peek into a life that few people have lived and most would avoid, and he does so with deft humor that is as pleasant to read as it must have been harrowing to live.

Published by Hamilton Books, Nasty Brutish and Short is available on Amazon. Order a copy and take it to the beach, I was glad I did.

[Staci Suhy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free as part of a first reads promotion

[Little Myr · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was hard to decide on 3 or 4 stars for this. I did win my copy in a giveaway, which im trying not to let bias my choice. Anyway, I enjoyed this book but I don't think it's for everyone. Anyone who has experienced anything similar to the author will relate to, and enjoy indulging in, jokes that only those with this perspective can share. Anyone who has a problem admitting that countries with bad reputations probably got them for a reason, is not going to enjoy this. I really liked the concept of this book, but the humor varied from hilarious to really cliche, corny, and predictable. I almost felt like different people wrote different chapters. But the funny parts were funny enough to overshadow the parts that make you groan. The thing that made me want to rate this a 3 the most was that I just kind of felt like I was reading a high school essay in terms of writing quality. Some paragraphs over used the same words, and some common knowledge mistakes made me feel the author was less educated than he is (for example relating schizophrenia to split personalities), and at the very least that maybe other facts were unreliable too. Overall I did enjoy this book, it is nostalgic for someone who's lived somewhere that doesn't run smoothly, but maybe not so interesting for someone who hasn't. Thank you for the copy!!!