Customer Reviews

The Global Etiquette Guide to Asia

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I teach at a language school in Fort Lauderdale. We receive students from Asia and Europe who visit for 3 weeks to 6 months to improve their written and spoken English. What I often spend a lot of time doing, espeically with students from countries that are foreign to me, is deceiphering their customs and automatic responses to new situations. For example, a guy from Egypt walked with me to his apartment to give him a book. I was perspiring so when we reached his bedroom, he pulled out a red box and sprayed cologne on my shirt's armpits, in front of my shirt and on my left and right ear. "Now you will feel fresh." Well, I'm waiting for Dean Allen Foster's book on North Africa or the Middle East, because his book about customs in Asia is stellar. I highly recommend its ability to give near-instant insight into the mores and traditions of foreign cultures. To meet a guy from Japan or China without knowing the stuff in this book is like entering a supermarket without a map of the store and expecting to find toilet paper quickly. This book is like an aisle guide to the store and it might even point out that toilet paper is sold in a different container than you expect. the book helped me overcome some misconceptions (and fears) that I had developed about China and I am grateful for that. Write to me if you have other insights. stevemccrea@usa.com

There aren't many books to help one navigate social customs in the diverse cultures of Asia, and for that reason this book is extremely useful. The author admirably tries to give depth and context to the rules of etiquette in Asia by providing some historical, cultural and religious background, but, unfortunately, he gets a lot of that stuff wrong. For example, he says the Buddha was a "wealthy Brahmin priest". In fact, he was a Kshatriya (warrior caste) prince. This is a key factor in his renunciation of wordly things, and important to know if you want to understand the role of the Buddha and Buddhism in India.

There are similarly significant errors in his descriptions of other Indian cultural matters (I don't know enough about the other Asian countries he talks about to comment, but I'm a bit skeptical of their accuracy in spots, too). Why even give that kind of background if it's not right?

I noticed that a few reviewers of the Global Etiquette: Europe book complain about like errors in those books -- mostly to do with language and usage. All in all, it seems like Mr. Foster could greatly improve this series if he'd get some knowledgeable native fact-checkers and proofreaders on the job for upcoming editions.

A great reference guide for anyone traveling to asia for the first time. The book is broken up by countries which helps in understand a little bit of the history, culture, do's and don'ts.

I agree completely with other reviwers who bemoan the lack of fact-checking. There are portions of this book that are off enough, and potentially problematic enough, that it should not be used as a stand-alone resource.