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Culture Shock!
Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette
Whether you travel for business, pleasure, or a combination of the two, the ever-popular "Culture Shock!" series belongs in your backpack or briefcase. Get the nuts-and-bolts information you need to survive and thrive wherever you go. "Culture Shock!" country guides are easy-to-read, accurate, and entertaining crash courses in local customs and etiquette. "Culture Shock!" practical guides offer the inside information you need whether you're a student, a parent, a globetrotter, or a working traveler. "Culture Shock!" at your Door guides equip you for daily life in some of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. And "Culture Shock!" Success Secrets guides offer relevant, practical information with the real-life insights and cultural know-how that can make the difference between business success and failure. Each "Culture Shock!" title is written by someone who's lived and worked in the country, and each book is packed with practical, accurate, and enjoyable information to help you find your way and feel at home.
216 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 24, 2012
An ok book. And overall it is a clear net gain for someone trying to understand Finland and Finns. I might recommend it - but with a warning that many apparent-facts might not stand up to scrutiny.
Negatives:
* The book is at least twice as long as it needed to be (although the style is rather readable).
* Of course in a book like this the author will be biased by her own experiences/knowledge - but in some places she gets details simply WRONG, especially about the weather/sunlight.
* My feeling is that most of what she writes is not supported by evidence (as would be if a social anthropologist, like Kate Fox, would have written such a book). I also found spelling errors in both the English and Finnish (e.g. ö ä). This just reduces one's confidence in the whole book.
* Of course the book is now becomming too old (e.g., she talks about provinces, which have since been abandoned).
* It is a shame that some of the positives of the book are balanced by so many negative things.
Positives:
* A good structure of the book (one can easily find and read one given culture component).
* A very thoughtful, useful and comprehensive range of topics/content.
* The author love's Finland and thus the writing style is easy to read.
* She highlights a large range of things from nice/small surprises, up to the way the nation operates.
Negatives:
* The book is at least twice as long as it needed to be (although the style is rather readable).
* Of course in a book like this the author will be biased by her own experiences/knowledge - but in some places she gets details simply WRONG, especially about the weather/sunlight.
* My feeling is that most of what she writes is not supported by evidence (as would be if a social anthropologist, like Kate Fox, would have written such a book). I also found spelling errors in both the English and Finnish (e.g. ö ä). This just reduces one's confidence in the whole book.
* Of course the book is now becomming too old (e.g., she talks about provinces, which have since been abandoned).
* It is a shame that some of the positives of the book are balanced by so many negative things.
Positives:
* A good structure of the book (one can easily find and read one given culture component).
* A very thoughtful, useful and comprehensive range of topics/content.
* The author love's Finland and thus the writing style is easy to read.
* She highlights a large range of things from nice/small surprises, up to the way the nation operates.
September 11, 2020
Reco by Derek Sivers
My fav quotes (not a review):
-Page 13 |
"It has been said that the Finns are very dour and solemn. But they do love to laugh and have a great sense of humour. They really are the first to joke about themselves and have a great sense of humility: “An American, a German and a Finn are looking at an elephant. The American wonders if the elephant would be good in a circus, the German wonders what price he would get if he sold it, and the Finn asks himself, ‘I wonder what the elephant thinks of me?’” Finland is a country where you can still get away from it all, enjoying picnics in pristine forests of pine, spruce and birch."
-Page 25 |
"One thing that astounds me (and all the foreign colleagues I know) is that the Finns often close the blinds as soon as the sun shines, winter or summer. They cannot have a room too bright!"
-Page 26 |
"However, Finland is NOT part of Scandinavia, which is defined as incorporating Norway, Sweden and Denmark."
-Page 29 |
"There are more lakes in Finland than in any other country in the world."
My fav quotes (not a review):
-Page 13 |
"It has been said that the Finns are very dour and solemn. But they do love to laugh and have a great sense of humour. They really are the first to joke about themselves and have a great sense of humility: “An American, a German and a Finn are looking at an elephant. The American wonders if the elephant would be good in a circus, the German wonders what price he would get if he sold it, and the Finn asks himself, ‘I wonder what the elephant thinks of me?’” Finland is a country where you can still get away from it all, enjoying picnics in pristine forests of pine, spruce and birch."
-Page 25 |
"One thing that astounds me (and all the foreign colleagues I know) is that the Finns often close the blinds as soon as the sun shines, winter or summer. They cannot have a room too bright!"
-Page 26 |
"However, Finland is NOT part of Scandinavia, which is defined as incorporating Norway, Sweden and Denmark."
-Page 29 |
"There are more lakes in Finland than in any other country in the world."
April 30, 2026
If this book was a newer updated print, I would give it 3 stars yet [as is] this book should probably not be sold until it is majorly edited. It is from 2008. The author is using umlauts at times, then not at all when needed, and sometimes in the wrong spaces. There are quite a few generalizations and major emphasis on stereotypes. The author describes the Finnish flag as having a "White cross on a pale blue background." Haha, seriously! What?
April 13, 2022
A must-have for all those who are planning to travel to this amazing country. The author equips the reader with a myriad of anecdotes, and cultural facts, and provides a very good introduction to the lives of Finnish people.
October 20, 2021
Intressanta iakttagelser, även om inte allt var korrekt uppfattat då det begav sig för 20 år sedan och mångt och mycket föråldrats.
January 24, 2014
Outdated but a good jumping off point in learning the development of the Finnish culture today.
October 9, 2016
Some good information. Stilted style. Many spelling errors on Finnish words. Needs a good editor.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews