USA: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette

Culture Shock!

by Esther Wanning

Culture Shock! adds two new "At Your Door" city lifestyle guides and one new country guide. The release of more Revised and Expanded Culture Shock! country editions continues with thirty-one now available. With over 1.5 million copies sold worldwide, the Culture Shock! brand name is recognized as the leading reference source for international customs and etiquette.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful book, especially as a reference though some of the information is probably outdated by now. The main thing the book lacks is a (co)author who actually went through the process of immigrating and settling in the US. Finally, I could have done without the moralizing parenting tips.

[Elliot Richards · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the whole not a bad read, though it is condescending in quite a few places and has a fair few inaccuracies to boot. I find the information is somewhat subjective for the most part and feel it's not as balanced as it could be as it makes a lot of assumptions about foreigners which are simply untrue in my experience. Still, there are some useful tidbits to take away from the book, though I feel it's time for a revision.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 1 out of 5]

Annoying entry in a series of cultural-survival guides for outsiders to the culture. Unlike the Beijing survival guide (see review elsewhere under author last name Jones), this one was not written by an ousider who has learned to survive in our culture and thus can write intelligently about how to do it. This book was written by a woman born in Massachusetts, raised in New York city, who now live in California--in other words, someone who is neither an outsider nor knows anything about the country she purportedly lives in.

Her writing consists mostly of blatantly liberal bashing of conservatives and Christians, while her survival tips are phrased in condescending denigration of those outsiders she is supposedly helping.

Millions of people come to the US from other countries to work and stay for periods of months or even years--surely one of these people would have been eminintly better qualified for this task than Wanning.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually not a foreigner, I just read this book to see the perspective of a foreigner coming into the USA's culture. While this book got a lot right, it got a lot wrong. Beware of the numerous stereotypes about Americans in this book, as the United States is huge, and every part of every state is unique and has its own personality and culture. I wouldn't recommend this book as a true reflection of American culture and advise those who are genuinely interested in American culture to look elsewhere.

[Corné · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously, it was the first book I read when I moved to the USA. Nothing replaces your experience in every day life, but this was a nice way to forgo the Dutch cliché that the Dutch and Americans are so compatible. They aren't. Apparently, too many American movies and sitcoms on Dutch television obfuscate the canyon between US and main-land European culture.

[AI · Rating 1 out of 5]

Obviously written by someone possibly narcissistic tendencies who has no ideal what it is like to be a foreigner and bit out of touch with reality and present time. Did not complete the book as there are others that deserve the attention that include extensive research on the topic.

[Abbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was entertaining. It felt very colloquial and not necessarily well-researched. Mostly it was a book of generalizations about Americans. Entertaining.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in preparation for a major international move, and found it very useful. It brought up lots of issues I hadn't even considered, despite a more than passing familiarity with the new area, and gave me more confidence with understanding some of the customs. It's probably even more dated now, but I'd definitely recommend this to anyone going to the continental US for anything more than a short vacation.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was like looking in the mirror for the first time: fascinating, reassuring, and horrifying, all at the same time. While I don't doubt the value of the series for travelers and the culturally curious, the USA volume is great for those whose only frame of reference is the lower 48.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

God, Americans are interesting!

[Jalice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing gave me a better perspective on traveling than reading about how other people can sometimes perceive us Americans.

[Omarove · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was to broad and toooo long. There are many details that a foreigner experiencing them is better than reading them. I read this book to thrill my yearning going back home.