Product Details
Culture Shock! Britain: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

Culture Shock! Britain: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette
By Terry Tan

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Product Description

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.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1217875 in Books
  • Published on: 2005-11-15
  • Original language: English
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 342 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Terry Tan is an expert in Chinese, Singaporean, and Indonesian food, and is a consultant editor on the cuisine of Southeast Asia for Wine and Dine magazine. Terry has written more than 20 cookbooks, and currently divides his time between conducting private cooking courses, writing and editing, creating recipes, and devising a range of specialist Asian sauces.

Customer Reviews

Poorly written but helpful...4
I picked up this book awhile back as I was planning on visiting Britain (though not living there). I just finished it yesterday and thought it was worth the notable effort to get through the book. Particularly worth mentioning:

- The author does a good job of pointing out possible faux pas (asking seemingly harmless questions like "Where do you live?") and non-issues (like how formally you dress). He mentions some important social rules - like not speaking on public transportation, not making a scene anywhere, not bothering your waiter unnecessarily, expecting gruff answers at certain spots, etc.

- In the midst of colorful details and random accounts, you can pick up helpful info - like tip 10% everywhere, the fog in Dickens/Holmes material was caused by the industrial revolution (and is now mostly gone), when restaurants/pubs tend to be open, etc.

- The author notes things that are changing with the times. If you read alot of historical British works (even from the 40's) then you might have some outdated notions of the importance of a high accent or dress. This is all clarified.

- Buried in the book is a rough history of England, history of the royal family, history of the government and historical places to see. All these things were helpful, if somewhat poorly written and hard to keep track of.

- Overall the guide is very positive and laid back. As such, I think you come away feeling relaxed and ready to engage this charming society.

- HOWEVER, the writing was poor - especially towards the end. By this I mean that the sentences were hard to read, punctuation was haphazzard, alot of information was repeated several times over, and the overall organization was poor. I kept thinking that there must be another way to get the same info across.

- Also, I found it very odd that for such a personal account (for that is what it is), you don't know alot about the author. It wasn't until the very end that I realized that the author was from Singapore - which, of course - threw a whole new light on all the information about race & discrimination & his neurotic attempts to "adapt." This also explains why he kept using terms I didn't know; he was explaining the British terms some, but then used other terminology I didn't know, so I felt that I was no better off. Finally, I'm not really sure if the author is a he or a she. I use "he" but I'm not sure. It's a little unnerving in this type of personalized narrative.

good intro3
I liked this book and thought it pulled together more info in one volume than anything else I've seen. Some generalizations are unavoidable. I thought it was a plus that the author has lived in Asia and came to the UK as an immigrant--I think that adds to his/her perspective. The book could use some photos and color, however.

A Painful Read1
Getting ready to go on international assignment, I picked up a copy of this book. The author's breathless inanities ran along the lines of (a paraphrase), "wow, some British men used to wear bowler hats." I found very little useful in this book to prepare me for the transition, and was occasionally offended by his borderlne racist generalizations. I was expecting sociology and got sleaze instead.