Customer Reviews

Culture Shock! United Arab Emirates: A Guide to Customs & Etiquette

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I read Culture Shock before traveling to Dubai and found almost everything described in the book either incorrect or outdated. Granted, I never traveled outside of urban areas and mostly dealt with business people in the Emirates but found everyone I met with to be genuine and warm.

In my opinion the UAE is a unique place in the world, and not only looks to the future on a grand scale but has the funding and vision to make it happen.

I agree that one should be sensitive to cultural differences, but not to the degree of that the author indicates.

I recommend you do not waste time or money on this book.

Crocetti's book is filled with stereotypes and false information. After living in the Middle East for 21 years, many of those in the United Arab Emirates, I am shocked by the information Crocetti has collected. She is unqualified in writing such a book, and I hope that none will take the information seriously as it is mostly inaccurate. Crocetti labels non-Emirates as "Westerners," not recognizing the similarities the two cultures share. They are not clashing, but different.

As a person who has lived in the region and has many friends there, I find Crocetti's implied notion that Emirates are unlike "Westerners" very misleading. Emirati society is divided and different, as all societies. Her constant generalizations such as all Emiraties are wealthy and women always prioritize beauty are just appalling.

I am shocked that Crocetti's work has been taken seriously. Any person who has lived in the United Arab Emirates should know that her book is filled with false information. (To list them all, I'd have to quote the majority of the book.)

Finally, this book is out-of-date as the United Arab Emirates has changed immensely, including in cultural norms.

I particularly liked the chapter on Culture Shock. The stages of shock as described by Ms. Crocetti are worth reading no matter what country you visit. The Emirates are a bit unusual in that they are a conglomeration of many cultures with a distinct minority as the dominant one. Ms. Crocetti clearly grasps the 'things are not as they seem' society and gives sound advice for coping.

First, I should say I am a professional cultural consultant, but I work primarily in South and Southeast Asia. Because of a recent trip to Dubai, I decided I would try to learn more about the particularities of Emirate culture. I was taken aback that something so chauvinistic and, what is more, so unhelpful would be published by a cultural and etiquette guide series. Crocetti demonstrates little to no understanding of cultural bridging or other practices that actually help one respond to different cultures and prepare for and address the effects of culture shock. As a professional in this area, I found this a major lack for a book in a series that professes to do just that. In fact, this was so lacking I am sure I will never purchase another book from the series again.

To illustrate my point, here is the suggestions for riding in a taxi (page 109):
" . . . Sit in the back seat; do not make eye contact with the driver; remind him to turn on the meter if he has forgotten; limit your conversation; be polite but firm in communicating your destination . . . if your taxi driver tries to engage you in a conversation, ignore him." The author justifies this advice because drivers tend to be of different ethnicities, primarily South Asia. However, is that any different than New York or London? Perhaps the author has been scarred by some particularly heinous experience with a taxi driver. I'll admit, I selected this particular passage because it is so outrageous, and also I will grant that women are sure to have more uncomfortable such situations (my experience is in more conservative places harassment is more common). However, very little of the advice given gets much further than this. In fact, the advice about dealing with individuals is mostly truisms that anyone with any exposure to Arab (or nearly any other culture outside one's own) will know.

I did find the information on Emirate culture interesting. However, a book specifically on Gulf culture would have filled that gap and much more authoritatively and would have also provided additional sources to go to for more depth and understanding--Crocetti gives a "Wikipedia" level treatment of the culture. One cannot help but feel that one is getting a fairly uninformed outsider view of the culture, and what is more, a view from the 1980s. This text should be out of print. This was originally published by Times in 1996. My feeling was that this 2004 edition has been updated by replacing "Cadillac" with "Hummer," but very little else has really been updated. My suggestion to the series editors would be to start from scratch with a contemporary take, not a feeble attempt to monetize a text that has clearly outlived its value.

I was hoping to learn more about the nuances that would help me better expect what I would encounter. I do not, however, feel any more informed having read the text than I did before, and therefore I cannot recommend this book for a traveler, a business person going to the area, a general reader, or anyone else.

I lived in the UAE from 1997-2000. If I had not read this book in the beginning, I don't know that I would have made so many Emirati friends. The book made me interested in the people and understand our communication difficulties. This book is a must.