Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cultural Etiquette

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

 

 

This is a really interesting book, as it contains cultural information for many places around the world, which you may even find useful for your contacts and trips. However: 1) It is addressed mainly to US citizens and their specific cultural background, and 2) Contains some errors (at least some I could notice about the Greek and the Japanese cultures). So, please enjoy the book, but do not take it as a textbook... Anyway, if I would ever wanted to conduct serious business with an Indonesian (and not a one-time contact), I would spend much more time on investigating cultural issues :)

Part 1: Overview of International Etiquette
(...)Part 2: North America and South America<(...)
Part 3: Eastern and Western Europe(...)
Part 4: Asia & the Pacific Rim(...)
Part 5: The Middle East(...)

Includes a glossary, a list of recommended books to read and a list of its contry's embassies including addresses and phone number where you can contact for more infomation.

I rated this book 3 stars because I don't know if everything in this book is correct. So my recommendation is to check out different sources to make sure you know the proper etiqutte if you are wondering about the proper etiquette for that country.

I'm a German living in the U.S., so naturally, I scanned through the section dealing with Germany. What I found was a list of factual errors and stupid stereotypes. I could not read a single sentence without either cringing or laughing hysterically. It's all so very wrong. I doubt if the author has ever been to Germany, or has ever talked to someone who has been to Germany.

As a positive aside, the title is very descriptive. Follow the book's advise, and people will take you for a complete idiot.