The Art of Crossing Cultures (Paperback)

by Craig Storti (Author) "Before you can learn how to get along with the locals, you first have to survive the move abroad..." (more)
Key Phrases: cultural incidents, country shock, many expats, Buenos Aires, Edward Hall, Khaleed El Ghalawi (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Words and insights of dozens of literary legends combine with Craig Storti's voice of experience to break new ground in this updated and redesigned edition of the classic that gets to the heart of the cross-cultural experience.

Product Details

• Paperback: 157 pages
• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing; 2 edition (June 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857882962
• ISBN-13: 978-1857882964
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #457,828 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinarily comforting and enlightening, February 7, 2003

By A Customer

This book remains a great source of wisdom and comfort, still needed after 15 years living abroad. The cultural differences aren't obvious any longer -- they can be deceptively subtle -- now that language and the daily facts of life are no longer an issue. However, I still trip over matters which I later realize to be cultural differences, and I assume others in similar situations do as well. And then I pull down Mr. Storti's book from the shelf and put it all into some sort of workable perspective.

Highly recommended to others, even those who have no intention of going abroad but would just like to have a better understanding of the cultural differences in this world -- something sorely needed these days.

By the way, Western women so quick to judge the 'sad' reality of women in Arab societies might do well to read this quotation from Harriet Martineau:

"[The women of the harem] pitied us European women heartily, that we had to go about travelling, and appearing in the streets without being properly taken care of -- that is, watched. They think us strangely neglected in being left so free, and boast of [how closely they are watched] as a token of the value in which they are held."

It should be a sobering reminder that it's a fools' game to judge, and certainly to pity, the reality of a person from a culture foreign to ours.

Thank you for your efforts and insights, Mr. Storti.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I usually hate this stuff..., February 27, 2003

By	alessandra vadala (United States) - See all my reviews

I am a totally way-too-confident, know-it-all travel partner, but I admit to having lost it while living in Eastern Europe last year with my husband (not his fault). Simply put: this book kept me from going home early SEVERAL times because Storti lets you moan and groan a little and then points out how you might have had a part in creating the cultural "misunderstanding" that plagues you. Trust me...if this book could help someone as stubborn as I am...it might be responsible for world peace someday.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Framework for Cross-Cultural Living, March 3, 2005

By	Julian A. Richter "JR" (Elizabethtown, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Using humorous anecdotes, this book gives the reader a framework for adapting to other cultures, not a step-by-step guide to "here's what to take the hostess in Bulgaria." The stories of British colonists in India may seem irrelevant if a reader is looking for that level of detail, but they do present basic guidelines that are applicable to any culture in the world. I would recommend this as one book among many that a person should read prior to moving to an overseas assignment.