Customer Reviews

Culture Shock! Britain: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette

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I purchased this book while I was engaged to my British husband, in an effort to adjust to the cultural aspects of living in another country after our wedding. This book was *not* very helpful. It didn't help at all in the *adjustment* process. Also, if you live (or plan to live) outside of London don't waste your money. Sure, it talked about some of the things that people coming to the UK might need to know, like differences in language, but if you're American, this book can be a bit confusing because the author is a speaker of Asian English (I think Hong Kong), which is much closer to British English than to American English.

I picked up this book awhile back as I was planning on visiting Britain (though not living there). I just finished it yesterday and thought it was worth the notable effort to get through the book. Particularly worth mentioning:

- The author does a good job of pointing out possible faux pas (asking seemingly harmless questions like "Where do you live?") and non-issues (like how formally you dress). He mentions some important social rules - like not speaking on public transportation, not making a scene anywhere, not bothering your waiter unnecessarily, expecting gruff answers at certain spots, etc.

- In the midst of colorful details and random accounts, you can pick up helpful info - like tip 10% everywhere, the fog in Dickens/Holmes material was caused by the industrial revolution (and is now mostly gone), when restaurants/pubs tend to be open, etc.

- The author notes things that are changing with the times. If you read alot of historical British works (even from the 40's) then you might have some outdated notions of the importance of a high accent or dress. This is all clarified.

- Buried in the book is a rough history of England, history of the royal family, history of the government and historical places to see. All these things were helpful, if somewhat poorly written and hard to keep track of.

- Overall the guide is very positive and laid back. As such, I think you come away feeling relaxed and ready to engage this charming society.

- HOWEVER, the writing was poor - especially towards the end. By this I mean that the sentences were hard to read, punctuation was haphazzard, alot of information was repeated several times over, and the overall organization was poor. I kept thinking that there must be another way to get the same info across.

- Also, I found it very odd that for such a personal account (for that is what it is), you don't know alot about the author. It wasn't until the very end that I realized that the author was from Singapore - which, of course - threw a whole new light on all the information about race & discrimination & his neurotic attempts to "adapt." This also explains why he kept using terms I didn't know; he was explaining the British terms some, but then used other terminology I didn't know, so I felt that I was no better off. Finally, I'm not really sure if the author is a he or a she. I use "he" but I'm not sure. It's a little unnerving in this type of personalized narrative.

Getting ready to go on international assignment, I picked up a copy of this book. The author's breathless inanities ran along the lines of (a paraphrase), "wow, some British men used to wear bowler hats." I found very little useful in this book to prepare me for the transition, and was occasionally offended by his borderlne racist generalizations. I was expecting sociology and got sleaze instead.

My husband is in the Air Force, so we just arrived in England to begin a 3 year tour. I read most of it on the plane, and take it with us as a reference. This book offers a great deal of historical information, as well as sightseeing tips. It touches on all the major differences, such as government, money, holidays, restaurants, shopping, etc. It's helpful if you're moving here or just visiting.

I came accross Culture Shock!: Britain, and read about it. I had seen it earliar at a book shop, and it looked very good. I ordered it. Being an avid fan of British Culture etc, I was shocked by some of the truths about England. I must say that some of the things in the book are a bit general and er...biased. I am not saying that the things the author (who happens to be an immigrant from Singapore) says about British life is wrong, but certainly he is wrong in generalising what a certain percentage (not all) of the British are like.

However, credit must be given. This book covers every aspect of the British life, from Tea Time to Marriage to Etiquette. It is very useful for somone wishing to know much about Britain. Oftentimes the author makes alot of statements about the society and the way it may be heading. This is very useful.

For someone who loves Britian, they should get this. Not the best guide to Britain, but certainly good.

I liked this book and thought it pulled together more info in one volume than anything else I've seen. Some generalizations are unavoidable. I thought it was a plus that the author has lived in Asia and came to the UK as an immigrant--I think that adds to his/her perspective. The book could use some photos and color, however.

My husband is in the Air Force, so we just arrived in England to begin a 3 year tour. I read most of it on the plane, and take it with us as a reference. This book offers a great deal of historical information, as well as sightseeing tips. It touches on all the major differences, such as government, money, holidays, restaurants, shopping, etc. There are so many differences that I never would have thought of. This book has helped us to avoid several situations that could have otherwise been embarrassing. It's a helpful guide if you're moving here or just visiting.

I found this book interesting and a good introduction to Britain. However, for someone to have spent so long in the country there are some errors and assumptions that are glaring. There seems to be a large emphasis on crime, which gives the impression that Britain is more crime ridden than any other European country. Perhaps it is compared to the author's home country - Singapore! Also the official name given in the book is "Britain". The correct name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This seems a rather large mistake for someone that is offering advice as a long time resident of the UK. Overall the book is good, but would supplement it with additional research for a broader range of views..

I've read several books in this series and this is, frankly, one of the least useful. The author is a native of Singapore (presumably ethnic Chinese) who moved more or less permanently to Britain in the early 1980s, but he seems still not to quite get it. There are also more than a few generalizations regarding non-Anglos that border on racism. In surveying the regions of the island, he mostly notes which famous authors came from there, or set their novels there. He seems to assume that various aspects of the British psyche will be very difficult for foreigners to understand -- things an American wouldn't give a second thought to, especially anyone who watches BBC programs on PBS. Perhaps it's just that Brits and Yanks, most of them, have a language in common. And there are numerous errors which should have been caught by an English copyeditor. No, "vicar" and "rector" do not "mean the same thing." And a vicar is not "sometimes known as a parson." He also seems to confuse Thomas Cranmer with Thomas Cromwell. And you "psych" yourself up (not "psyche"); there are lots and lots of minor but off-putting blunders like that. He also feels it necessary to explain how to use a place setting at table (the order of forks and spoons, etc). It's not the author's fault, obviously, that a fifteen-year-old book can't take into account the vast changes in Tony Blair's Britain, nor that the Royal Family has changed considerably. But Orin Hargraves's book on London in this series, published in 1997, is far more astute (and less fawning and bedazzled) about the British than Tan. (However, like all the books in this series, the index is downright pathetic.)

40 pages into the book I look at the author's bio, a food critic and not a culture critic. His generalizations bordered on racisim. He gave me no confidence that he knew what he was talking about. This book was totally unhelpful.