Culture Shock! USA : A Guide to Customs and Etiquette

by Esther Wanning

Book Overview

CultureShock! USA is the essential guide for anyone who wants to live and work in the United States. Learn about the political and social divides in this vast land and how the various ethnic societies... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1870668790
• ISBN13: 9781870668798
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Kuperard
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A WELL INSIDE VISION OF STATES

i read till now five titles in culture shock series: Germany Israel, Austria, Brazil and USA. Each book was very worth of reading. culture shock USA is a great book.On my first sight of the book i thought that it was not fair to take an USA-born writer in this interprise because in the series foreigners were asked to write about the country where they are living now.but the author cares about this and takes opinions of immigrants. even harsh remarks are in the book(even too much ones).that is a good ,realistic and inspiring intoducion to USA for us foreigners.but the shadowy side is present too. the author advises that is not correct to say chairman because could be a woman this person ,but she calls USA America despite that could be Canada ,Argentina,Haiti or my country Brazil among others.One more point.CAVEAT EMPTOR:in culture shock Brazil i asked the quiz in final chapter and i answered correctilly just one question in five.don't trust too much inflexible statements because in real life they may not be true.

It's funny to read about yourself like this...

I bought this book to send to the foreign exchange student that will be living with us this year, and I read it myself before sending it to him. It is really strange to read about your own culture, because there are so many quirks that we have as Americans that we never notice. This book gave me new insight into our culture and behavior. It was definitely fun, and prompted a great deal of introspection. It is well written, but sometimes odd in style, using words and phrases that just don't sound "American". If you can get past that, it is really worth reading, even for an American, and perhaps especially for an American.

Funny, and a useful for foreigners

Unlike the previous criticism from New Hampshire, this book is more a view how other cultures must see us. It is important to remember, though, that the U.S. has no one dominant culture, and that cultures and political opinion vary by state and are based on the particular region's unique history. Although I live 35 miles from the New Hampshire border, I wholeheartedly agree with the view that the gun-toting, my-right-to-bear-arms mentality, has contributed to the demise of civil society and increase in violence across the U.S.

Great, detailed and funny look at customs and differences

This really is excellent. A little dated in some of the pictures but this adds to the humour (humor). I read this on the plane on the way over and it gave great insight and lots to talk about.

best book for 1st timers and business people

The best book I have ever seen about US customs and traditions particulary from business point of view.