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28th out of 49 books
—
11 voters
Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- And Cold-Climate Cultures
Author Sarah Lanier explains how cultures around the world can fit into two basic categories and how these categories differ. Whether you are a cross-cultural worker or simply live in a cross-cultural neighborhood, you'll find this book to be a valuable resource for understanding and relating to others from a different "climate".
Hardcover, 128 pages
Published
February 1st 2004
by McDougal Publishing Company
(first published 2000)
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I found this book a bit simplistic and makes some sweeping assurances which aren't sufficiently nuanced… but someone who has little experience crossing cultures, this is a very useful book because it exposes how cultures often different in ways that might not be immediately recognized. Given this book is intended as a gentle introduction, I have given it four stars. For someone who is already used to thinking about cultural differences, this is just three stars… there are a few gems, some good s...more
Oct 15, 2011
Kim
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who wants to travel or make foreign friends
Recommended to Kim by:
Beth Decker
If you ever want to travel or just relate with people from different countries and cultures, I definitely recommend this book by Sarah A. Lanier. Miscommunication is a huge problem cross-culturally and Lanier delivers a simple, practical, clear guide to avoiding the common mistakes that foreigners make. Hot and cold climate cultures are somewhat generalized but the basic principles that guide her advice are logical and will save foreigners from a lot of miscommunication, misunderstanding, and lo...more
As someone who has spent a lot of time overseas in both hot and cold climates, I completely identified with the ideas in Lanier's book. Although not true 100% of the time (as she points out, individuals can be different from the mass cultural stereotypes - for example, I was born and raised in the "hot south", but my personality is much more "cold northern"), she comes very close to the heart of cultural misunderstandings and issues in this book.
If you're considering moving overseas or even jus...more
If you're considering moving overseas or even jus...more
Mar 02, 2010
Ashlie
added it
This was required reading for a course I'm taking, Introduction to Cross-Cultural studies. I have a Master's in Intercultural Communication and am taking this class for review, so the material wasn't new to me and was a simplified version of other things I have studied.
This was a really easy read and gives a basic overview for someone wanting to understand how to navigate cultural differences. I'm not sure if I agree with all the concepts in the book but it serves as a good jumping off point for...more
This was a really easy read and gives a basic overview for someone wanting to understand how to navigate cultural differences. I'm not sure if I agree with all the concepts in the book but it serves as a good jumping off point for...more
A quick and easy read, but it has some profound truths communicated in very simple ways. A well organized book on its subject. This is a must-read for anyone who will be traveling to or living in a foreign country soon or who interfaces with people from other cultures, especially in the workplace. With the U.S. becoming more multicultural and more Americans spending time abroad, this is an invaluable book. The author has grappled with cultural differences and explained them well.
This book is a nice and quick read for anyone interested in learning about a general difference in cultures without going deep into specific countries.
I like that her ideas were explained well through her experiences and were summarized at the end of each section. However, her bias was easy to pick up on and some of her generalizations on 'cold climate cultures' seemed to be based on something that happened to her once instead of repeated occurrences.
I like that her ideas were explained well through her experiences and were summarized at the end of each section. However, her bias was easy to pick up on and some of her generalizations on 'cold climate cultures' seemed to be based on something that happened to her once instead of repeated occurrences.
My Guatemala team for summer 2012 read this in preparation for our trip. It was an easy read and very practical for preparing our team to visit and engage with another culture.
The premise is that there are some major differences culturally between hot and cold climates, one being more relational and then other more task oriented. It was true to my travels and she is quite qualified to make these observations having lived in multiple countries. She explores communication (direct/indirect), identi...more
The premise is that there are some major differences culturally between hot and cold climates, one being more relational and then other more task oriented. It was true to my travels and she is quite qualified to make these observations having lived in multiple countries. She explores communication (direct/indirect), identi...more
This was a very good book, but you have to realize that it is full of generalities that don't apply uniformly. At the end of the book the author points this out. I would recommend this book to anyone going to a foreign country to learn a little bit about why someone may act they way they do. In the last chapter the author mentions that others have suggested other comparison terms that I think are much better than the hot climate, cold climate cultures.
Very simply and succinctly written. A quick and pleasurable read. Very true for the most part. Some things I would not quite agree with living in Ukraine... but some cultural things are affected by growing globalism, differences not only in cultures but also between large cities and villages within a country as well as generation gaps. Either way, an enjoyable read.
If I could give this book 6 starts, I would. It's such a great one to help understand different cultures, plus you can read it in about an hour. I have passed it on to many people. Anyone working with people of different cultures, and in all honesty, anyone should really read this book to help them understand different cultures in our world today!
Fantastic book! Excellent for anyone who travels to another culture, or who interacts with anyone from another ethnicity or cultural group. Sarah gives very helpful paradigms for the broad differences between different cultures, which helps us to understand, appreciate, and communicate much better. Highly recommended.
May 02, 2012
Pete van Genne
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Pete by:
BC Vineyard Church Regional Retreat
A quick, high-level synopsis of differences between hot- and cold-climate cultures (or better put: hot/tribal- and cold/urban). I really liked the discussion on the differences between high-context an low-context cultures. A worthy read for travellers or those wanting to understand cultural differences.
A quick and somewhat superficial, but still useful, book on cross-cultural interaction. Lanier breaks it down into categories and explains how different cultures interact, things to keep in mind while dealing with members of a culture which may not "match up" with yours, and examples of real-life situations.
Has some interesting ideas & comprehensible anecdotes - but the plural of anecdote is not data, and the generalizing Lanier does is a mite uncomfortable and (speaking as a German-Scots-Irish American from a Cold culture, high concept family) frequently incorrect.
I really like this book, and often recommend it to others. It's such a good explanation of how different cultures interact, and how we can learn to comunicate with people from other cultures. For anyone who has ever met anyone from another context, this is a must-read.
Easy to read. Highly informative. And immediately applicable/visible in daily life. The text is definitely full of generalities (as the author notes), but serves as a valuable place to begin thinking about cross-cultural communication and interaction.
This is a "must read" book. I got it for Christmas and re-read it outloud to my husband while we were driving to LA. I learned so much about communicating to hot and cold cultures..... I can use this information here in the Bay Area or while I am traveling.
Pretty interesting book on the cultural differences related to latitude. While the cultural insights are broad generalizations, it can be helpful to have these ideas in your head if you travel overseas or deal with people from different cultures.
Great read for anyone traveling abroad or anyone who is just interested in getting some cultural perspective. It's very broad and general, but Lanier has enough experience with enough very different cultures to make these generalizations. It's a very quick read, I highly recommend it.
Excellent book on helping us understand how our hot and cold climates and where we come from makes a difference in how we relate to others. It is an excellent resouce to read before embarking on a cross cultural experience.
recomend to those who care to understand cultural dynamics, as well as understanding our internalized ways of functioning that affect our everyday lives. simple, easy reading. self published and has lots of typos but good.
fairly simplistic in its description of culture but informative none the less. wish she would have explored a bit more about the reality that second generation folks wrestle with the reality of both hot and cold climate traits.
Although somewhat of a simplistic analysis, Foreign to Familiar provides a very practical set of questions to ask in any cross-cultural encounter. Distinguishing between hot and cold climate cultures, Lanier offers a key – mapped out through years of cross-cultural experiences – to understanding and navigating a variety of cultural traits: relationship or task oriented; direct or indirect communication; individual or group identity; inclusion or privacy; low and high context cultures. In additio...more
Wow! Such a perfect book to finish the morning I move to a foreign land. I'd recommend it to everyone whether you plan to visit another another country or just a different part of your own country.
What a gem! This little book has an amazing way of looking at cultural differences, and explains so many mis-communications that happen between people from different backgrounds.
Great book for understanding other cultures! Very practical advice for dealing with others from other cultures, and even form those within your own. Very insightful work.
A super quick read and good primer on the difference between "hot", relationship-driven cultures and "cold," time-driven cultures.
Read this book before I left for China. Highly practical and insightful. Loved reading about the differences in Cultures.
Excellent, very-fast read on cross-cultural issues. New terminology/classifications to me that make so much sense and are very helpful in understanding why people do things differently! Highly recommended.
Great book that teaches you about the differences between warm-climate cultures and cold-climate cultures.
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May 02, 2012 08:35am