Reviewed by: African Immersion: American College Students in Cameroon by Julius A. Amin Kwaku Nti Amin, Julius A. African Immersion: American College Students in Cameroon. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2015. The publication of Julius Amin's African Immersion: American College Students in Cameroon takes the emergent scholarly research on study abroad programs to an altogether different level. Based on an intriguing variety of primary and secondary sources, the book provides an historical analysis of the University of Dayton's Cameroon Immersion Program, which aims at a relatively more deliberate and consistent introduction to interested students on aspects of African cultures. This program's uniqueness is rooted in a university-local community arrangement, with an overarching service component dating back to the university's very foundation, and spanning in time the various phases of the school, from the initial Marianist College to the present University of Dayton. The ten-chapter book with three appendices proffers some profound meanings and relevance of the study abroad concept, drawn not only from the author's expertise but also other scholars and think-tank groups. It is variously seen as "an affirmation of the universal nature of humanity," identification of "those bonds which unite rather than divide," where participants and host country are "learning from each other" as well as "complementing each other" and "a greater ethnic sensitivity" develops alongside "awareness in multicultural practice" (p. 2). Furthermore, study abroad [End Page 73] becomes the "exchange of values that leads to a sense of intercultural understanding and competencies" that provide student participants with a "future competitive edge" (p. 2). Study abroad not only bequeaths an international or global citizenship, but also "a continuous and integrated experience of international issues and cultures" (p. 2). This is especially important, given the scenarios of interpersonal engagement with other cultures, where participants are changed while they help to change people in the various sites of operation (p. 3). Among other valuable benefits, study abroad offers "cultural competency" for millennial students, many of whom are "over programmed and over protected' (p. 3). Moreover, these views quintessentially reiterate in diverse ways the inescapable fact that the study abroad experience is a necessity and not a luxury. Although Amin establishes the incredible value and enlightening potential of study abroad programs, he is not uncritical of the program that from all indications is dear to him. There is always that group of participants who are sure to see it, first and foremost, and justifiably so, as a vacation experience, with the added thrilling thought of getting dubious grades for little work done. Additionally, there are those who resist genuine involvement in local culture with duplication of their American lifestyles goaded on by contemporary communication technology. These detractions occur against a background of local logistical challenges, limited time constraints, culture shock, students falling sick, as well as becoming targets of thieves, and other risks, some of which can be potentially life-threatening. In spite of these odds, there are determined students who endure and remain focused on the larger learning and life changing experience. [End Page 74] Amin is not unmindful of untoward behaviors on the part of a few students who more or less take advantage of some locals. While students generally reject "white" or western privilege that they are greeted with everywhere they go, some of them are quick to want to get the best of everything; a situation, often times, so disturbing as to generate some element of group tension and dissensions, made worse because of the frequency with which some students flippantly attended the pre-immersion orientations. Over the years, policy makers' promotion of the Study Abroad Program has resulted in a corresponding increment in number of participants; however, analysis of participant demographics is yet to reflect a much needed balance, as minority participation is relatively low. Again, this under-representation is also reflected in the various world regions visited. As in all programs, European destinations remain the most popular, with China also gaining increasing attention. With the dwindling fortunes of African countries as competitive sites, Amin's book facilitates a better understanding of motives, relevance, and impact of the continent as a viable site for study abroad programs. To this...