American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States [Paperback]

Gary Althen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

Traveling to America soon? If the thought of extended exposure among Americans seems daunting, let American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States help you prepare. In this revised edition, Gary Althen has added material to provide the clearest insights yet into the American psyche and culture, including the rewritten chapter Ways of Reasoning, which provides one of the best-organized and clearest presentations of American thought processes to date, and a new chapter on race and ethnic relations that compares how foreign visitors and Americans alike perceive American subcultures. Within most chapters Althen has included a new section, Suggestions for Foreign Visitors, adding another practical dimension to the book. American Ways covers all the basic needs of the foreign student or businessperson, covering the trends and customs of day-to-day activities like driving, shopping and verbal and nonverbal communication as well as the more esoteric customs regarding cultural values, politics, education, religion and male-female relationships. As a comprehensive introduction to American culture, American Ways will prepare you for living, studying and working in America. It's that little tiny stuff that can affect how people get along....[T]here are lots and lots of different [cues] on an underlying, unspoken level.-Gary Althen Althen gives advice to foreign visitors to the U.S. that is intended to help them understand the motivations, attitudes, communication styles, and actions of Americans. Emphasizing the interpretation of observed behavior, he covers ways of reasoning and American ideas about politics, family life, education, religion, the media, social relationships, racial and ethnic diversity, male-female relationships, sports and recreation, driving, shopping, personal hygiene, and organizational and public behavior. Over-generalization is an understandable danger in such a work as this, but Althen does make an effort to emphasize that there are variations among Americans, while he concentrates on the similarities.-Book News ContentsPreface to the Second EditionAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: General Ideas About American Culture1 American Values and Assumptions 2 The Communicative Style of Americans3 Ways of Reasoning4 Differences in CustomsPart II: Specific Aspects of American Life5 Politics6 Family Life7 Education8 Religion9 The Media10 Social Relationships11 Racial and Ethnic Diversity12 Male-Female Relationships13 Sports and Recreation14 Driving15 Shopping16 Personal Hygiene17 Getting Things Done18 Behavior in Public Places19 Studying20 BusinessPart III: Coping With Cultural Differences21 Some Helpful Ideas22 Activities for Learning About American CultureConclusionBibliographyAbout the Author

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gary Althen served for thirty years as a foreign student adviser at the University of Iowa, many of them as director of the Office of International Students and Scholars. He has been president of NAFSA: Association of International Educators and received its Marita Houlihan Award for his contributions to the field of international educational exchange. He is the author of The Handbook of Foreign Student Advising and is author, editor, or coauthor of many publications concerning international education and intercultural affairs. He has lived and worked in Peru and Malaysia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing; 2 edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1877864994
• ISBN-13: 978-1877864995
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Jem of a Book!, May 17, 2002

By 

Mike Blackwell (Malibu, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States (Paperback)

Some people do not understand the beauty of American Ways. They think that it merely depicts stories. The actual wonderful thing about this book is that it deals with stereotypes. Almost all of us, regardless of country, have certain pre-conceived notions regarding others. American Ways directly addresses foreigners stereotypes of Americans. The book is even bold enough to agree with the stereotypes at times. However, it typically dispels and explains the reasons for those stereotypes. This makes for a much richer understanding of aspects particular to American culture. Having previously taught English as a foreign language in China, I think that this book alone could inspire countless classroom discussions on a variety of aspects regarding Americans.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, December 16, 2002

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States (Paperback)

Gary Althen's richly detailed guide shines a psychological, cultural and sociological spotlight on American customs, values, attitudes and behavior. Organized into 22 chapters that cover just about every aspect of American life, the book hits you with its uncanny insight, accuracy and honesty. Although he doesn't completely avoid stereotyping (and doesn't seem at all bothered by it), Althen presents the good, the bad and the quirky. He explains the "why" behind American attitudes and manners. Even though this is a guide for foreigners visiting, doing business in or living in the United States, we from getAbstract also suggest this book to Americans. It's an eye-opener about the national personality, or the perceived national personality, from naïvete to individualism. As Scotsman Robert Burns wrote, "Oh wad some power the giftie gie us, to see oursels as others see us." Well, here's your chance.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very insightful, easy reading, thought provoking resource on cultural norms, August 22, 2006

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PB2008 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: American Ways: A Guide for Foreigners in the United States (Paperback)

This book is an excellent resource for people who are ready and want to learn more about U.S. American cultural norms. This includes people from other countries and people living in the United States (regardless of citizenship). For U.S. Americans, by highlighting U.S. American culture the book also provides insight into other cultures.

The author rightly addresses the issue of stereotyping in the Introduction on page xxii. This point about cultural norms (which by definition indicates a wide distribution of actual behaviors within a culture and individual variations is important to keep in mind. The book is an easy read.

The chapters cover many aspects of life including social, educational, and business. U.S. Americans should also realize that the book is addressed to and written from the perspective of people from other countries. Nonetheless, it provides wonderful insights into U.S. culture and other cultures.