Britain - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

Culture Smart / Cultuur Bewust

by Paul Norbury

“Cool Britannia” is alive and well today. British culture is at the top of its game—in fashion, popular music, art and entertainment, science and technology, new inventions, and in the rediscovered skills and excellence in engineering that make it Germany’s leading trading partner in Europe.

 

As a family of nations, the British are inventive, reflective, good humored, funny, focused, and tenacious. Today’s multicultural Britain is managing the challenges of integrating minorities in a way that remains true to its fundamental values and beliefs as a fair and open society, one that continues to see itself as a model for others to follow.

 

Since the first edition of this guide appeared, Britain has faced huge and accelerated change in its cultural, economic, and political life. In ten years immigration has added a further five million to its population. Confidence in its banks and regulatory structures was shaken by the global financial crisis. The very unity of the United Kingdom was tested in 2014 in the referendum on Scottish independence, and although those wishing to retain the Union triumphed, it prompted a debate about national identities and rights, and the prospect of a new “fairer” settlement for the English. While the desire of Scottish nationalists for independence remains as strong as ever, the surge in support for the UK Independence Party (which wants Britain to leave the EU) may well result in a new form of power sharing in parliament. 

 

This revised and updated edition of Culture Smart! Britain examines the impact of these issues on British society and guides the reader through the quirks, customs, values, and changing ways of British life. It is a must-read for the record-breaking numbers of visitors coming to these islands.

Genres: Travel, Cultural, Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

- The UK is a loosely defined country: in reality, the island is full of history of English's successful conquer against other territories. However, unlike other kingdoms where the conqueror forcefully let the defeated adopt to conqueror's tradition, the English largely let its defeated remain in the culture they were born with, hence resulting in a union of multiple kingdoms

- "Received Pronunciation" was what the BBC promoted throughout the 20th century, but in recent years the shift was towards more localized accent

- In 18th century, the Scottish clan was "clearances" by the English multiple times, resulting in much of resentment (even towards this day) as well as migration towards the new world (such as New England, Canada (especially Nova Scotia), Australia and New Zealand)

- Wales have its own language and continues to use its own language to this day

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book! It is a good basic overview of cultures and customs of Britain. It is not, however, a detailed description of specific things to see, places to go, things to eat, etc. I was looking for more specific details. This book was not a waste of my time, but it definitely wasn’t exactly what I was looking for.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light to read, but still super useful and full of practical information.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall: 4.0/5.0

[Tara van Beurden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I worked in England for ten weeks in 2012. I was sent over by the auditing firm I worked for at the time, a reward given to hard working employees – ten weeks in London, accommodation, flights etc paid for, and the implied opportunity to travel Europe on weekends. As part of the experience, I was made to go to ‘culture’ training to adapt to working with the English (something I found hilariously funny seeing as I’m Australian, and I’ve worked with tons of Poms my whole working life). They gave me this book at the training, and it was actually quite interesting. It explains standard customs and cultural sensitivities about the whole of Great Britain, and it had some advice I definitely ended up bearing in mind while there (I knew I’d been there too long when I started getting annoyed when ‘bloody foreigners’ didn’t queue properly). One of these days, I’ll seek out the version of this book for Australia just to see what it recommends!

[bibliolatry · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so vague, and wasn't sure of its audience. So much of the book was either common knowledge or trite information that didn't help anyone. The author was obviously very proud of the U.K., and spent a lot of time defending things such as warm bar. He bothered to explain that wine bars have a variety of wines. He mentioned a future transportation/rail line and said it was controversial, but he did not say what the controversy was about.

He wrote about the tube, but didn't mention the Oyster Card. Political correctness offended him, because he stated that using the word firefighter instead of fireman was silly.

There were so many more instances, however I was listening to the audio and cannot remember them with no written record of what I heard.

I would not recommend this book for anyone who really wants to understand British culture. It doesn't go deep enough. As for tourists, he doesn't even give enough information to make that helpful.

[Kevin de Ataíde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small, pocket sized introduction to the British Isles; geography, history and culture of the locals, as against the migrant populations of the last two generation who can't be bothered to integrate into this great tradition. It's terrible to see what sometimes seems to be undue attention to imported cultures. (And I'm a foreign student.) One comes to England expecting to find an English setting, but can disturbingly find an entirely Middle Eastern or Asian neighbourhood.



Good as a quick guide, but do get a bigger and more detailed book with all the various customs and traditions.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful book for people who are relocating to the UK from abroad. The author discusses manners and customs, when to dress up and when to be casual (and what "casual dress" means), British formality, etc. This is a short travel/relocation guide and not an in-depth anthropological study of British culture.

[Eli Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2016, so it's obviously a little dated. Author tried to be neutral on some subjects, but a little bit of conservatism/male privilege showed. Overall, good little book of info, but to be taken with a grain of salt.

[Patti · Rating 1 out of 5]

A guide to British culture. General guidelines not in depth detail.