Product Description
Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.

Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include:

* customs, values, and traditions
* historical, religious, and political background
* life at home
* leisure, social, and cultural life
* eating and drinking
* do's, don'ts, and taboos
* business practices
* communication, spoken and unspoken

"Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel

"... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel

"...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer

"...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine

"...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

great book!
I bought the book for my friend and of course I read it before i gave it to him. The book reflects very well the realities of Romania and I was pleased to see that. He liked it a lot and anytime I tell him about Romania he says: " I know, I read it in the book".
Good book overall!!

Great!
I really enjoyed reading this book. according to my friend who has already been to Romania it was extreamly accurate.

Bunveneti a Romania!
I am very glad I bought this book.

I have dealings with people in Romania, both for work and socially, and had been baffled and offended by some behaviors.

This book explains all:for example, it isn't bad manners, it's normal manners, it is local custom, to not say "please" or "thank you."When they get in your face and yell their opinion, it isn't aggression or anger:that's normal conversation.And if you yell right back, they'll appreciate it!

Wish I knew that before my first trip ......

Dropping pronouns & even nouns is how they actually talk (as opposed to what we learn in Berlitz or other language schools).

The essays on recent history & politics are very informative on how many Romanian people view, and sometimes envy us; and explains the disconnect between what we, in a free market economy in a democracy mean and what they hear/understand.And vice versa.

I wish I had this book a year ago, when I first interviewed for a consultant position in Bucharest.

It is easy to read, well laid out, a very casual style of English. ... Read more

Product Description
Combining sharp observation, a native's ease in the city, and talent as a storyteller, Denise Roman spiritedly presents the myriad details and the diverging cultural strands of life in postcommunist Bucharest. Roman focuses on identity-formation and identity politics among youth, Jews, women, and queers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great book!
Not only for academics, but for potential tourists (to Romania)as well. Hip and smart, a 'must read' for anyone involved in Eastern European studies.

the perfect blend of theory & hard facts
Dr. Roman has done it! After reading many books on Eastern Europe, I was ready to give up; if they were written by Western scholars, they were unanimously deploring the hopeless backwardness of the region. If written by Eastern European scholars, they were just exercises in journalism or news reports.
And then, I read "Fragmented Identities". A beautiful journey through the soul of Balkans (specifically, post-communist Romania), seen through the eyes of a native, but explained through Western theoretical frameworks. The book deals with an eclectic mixture of hot issues in today's Romania (and not only there!), e.g. gender subjectivities, anti-semitism, feminism, estetics, etc. A must read for all Eastern European scholars, political scientists, feminists and for all those who are interested in a fresh and intelligent portrayal of today's (urban) life in Bucharest and Romania...

the perfect blend of theory & hard facts
Dr. Roman has done it! After reading many books on Eastern Europe, I was ready to give up; it they were written by Western scholars, they were unanimously deploring the hopeless backwardness of the region. If written by Eastern European scholars, they were just exercises in journalism or news reports.
And then, I read "Fragmented Identities". A beautiful journey through the soul of Balkans (specifically, post-communist Romania), seen through the eyes of a native, but explained through Western theoretical frameworks. The book deals with an eclectic mixture of hot issues in today's Romania (and not only there!), e.g. gender subjectivities, anti-semitism, feminism, estetics, etc. A must read for all Eastern European scholars, political scientists, feminists and for all those who are interested in a fresh and intelligent portrayal of today's (urban) life in Bucharest and Romania. ... Read more

Product Description
The current transformation of many Eastern European societies is impossible to understand without comprehending the intellectual struggles surrounding nationalism in the region. Anthropologist Katherine Verdery shows how the example of Romania suggests that current ethnic tensions come not from a resurrection of pre-Communist Nationalism but from the strengthening of national ideologies under Communist Party rule. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fascinating and useful book
Katherine Verdery is an American anthropologist working primarily in Romania.She has written a number of books on this fascinating and often troubled country.

When I started working there in 1992 I found it very difficult to understand quite what was going on, and the background to many of the debates I was encountering.

Verdery's book examines the background to National Ideology in Romania, both its historical roots in the 17th and 18th centuries and its more recent history under the communist regime.She also provides an in-depth theoretical analysis of the communist "command economy" and its impact on academic debates in Romania. The book provides several case studies including literary criticism and history.

I read this book with utter fascination and it formed the key to my understanding of many of the problems I encountered.It is not an easy read, it is a theoretical academic book, but it is a brilliant one and is essential reading for anyone engaging with the academic sphere in Romania. ... Read more

Product Description
The West has been courting Romania for a decade now. It was given the chairmanship of the OCSE in 2001, and the country has been a reliable US ally in international adventures since then. Once part of the Austrian Empire, then dominated by Soviet influence, the nation actually traces its heritage to the heady days of the expanding Roman Empire, and their language is closely related to Latin.

In four long journeys over a 6-year span, this traveling duo uncover a tantalizing blend of German efficiency and Latin nonchalance, French literature and Gypsy music, Western rationalism and Oriental mysteries. Fernandez reveals the rich Romanian essence. Attentive and precise, he digs beneath the somber heritage of communism to reach the deep roots of a European country that is so little-known.
Sharp, touching photographs accompany an insightful text.
Eschewing stereotypes of Transylvania they reveal the bucolic paradise that unfolds in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains just beginning to face an onslaught of Euro-wielding tourism developers and examine with a sensitive eye the aspirations of a people who treasure their past but are eager to share the prosperity and modern lifestyle of their neighbors further West.

Features include the Orthodox Church and its monasteries, still functioning throughout the region but especially to the east, in Moldova; ambitious building projects in the capital, Bucharest; and a look inside the homes of the gypsies, some of whom have turned out to be natural "capitalists" but many of whom still reject settled life; their horse-drawn wagons now share the country roads with speeding Mercedes as well as local Dacia cars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Better than expected travelogue
The quantity of the photos was unexpected in a travel book which is otherwise rather cheaply produced.They enrich the volume immensely, and the main regret is that they were not in color or of better quality.Although the author's political views and running commentary of opinion about modern French literature is a distraction, overall the volume is a good read and provides an interesting insight into this little known region.As a recent traveler in Transylvania, I found that the book brought back many happy memories. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from East European Quarterly, published by East European Quarterly on June 22, 2000. The length of the article is 2124 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: SURVIVAL THROUGH CULTURE IN A SURREAL, ROMANIA.
Author: Carmen Firan
Publication: East European Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2000
Publisher: East European Quarterly
Volume: 34Issue: 2Page: 255

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description

This compelling ethnographic study describes how two groups of Romanian industrial workers have fared since the end of socialism. Once labor's elite, the celebrated coal miners of the Jiu Valley and the chemical workers of the Fagaras region had many social privileges and often derived genuine satisfaction from their work. Today, they are a rarely noted casualty of postsocialist transformations. Fear, distance, and alienation are the physical manifestations of stress experienced due to their precarious job status, declining health, and loss of a social safety net. Kideckel traces these issues in the context of labor, political relationships, domestic and community life, gender identities, and health. Drawing on more than three decades of fieldwork, he presents many narratives from select individuals, in their own words, providing a poignant and illuminating perspective on the everyday lives of ordinary people.

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Countries and Their Cultures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 3002 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the broad range of popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the twentieth century. Beliefs, practices, symbols, traditions, movements, organizations, and leaders from the many traditions in the pluralistic American community are represented. Also includes cults and phenomena that drew followers, such as Heaven's Gale and UFOs. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Romanians (dated: Rumanians or Roumanians; Romanian: români or -historically, but now a seldom-used regionalism- rumâni; dated exonym: Vlachs) are a nation and ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian (român?); they are the majority inhabitants of România. In one prominent interpretation of the census results in Moldova, Moldovans are counted as Romanians, which would mean that the latter form the majority in that country as well. Romanians are also an ethnic minority in several nearby countries. The Romanian people are a nation in the meaning of ethnos (in Romanian: neam), defined more by the sense of sharing a common Romanian culture, descent, and having the Romanian language as mother tongue than by citizenship or by being subjects to any particular country. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume comprises nine essays by well-known historians of Romania and Eastern Europe. The essays are based largely on recent, unpublished sources. Their topics range from studies on medieval history and culture--including the age of Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler)--to this century's turmoils in and around the establishment of communist rule and its 1989 collapse. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Titu Liviu Maiorescu (Romanian pronunciation: [?titu majo?resku]; 15 February 1840 - 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the Junimea Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of the 19th century. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Foreign Minister between 1910 and 1914 and Prime Minister of Romania from 1913 to 1914. He represented Romania at the Peace Conference in Bucharest that ended the Second Balkan War. In politics as in culture he favoured Germany over France. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Romanian Philosophy, Culture of Romania, Hunting in Romania, Union of Transylvania With Romania, Folklore of Romania, Junimea, Socialist Realism in Romania, Sârbi Susani Church, Hora, Călineşti Susani Church, Academia Bârlădeană, Seven Natural Wonders of Romania, List of World Heritage Sites in Romania, Great Union Day, Cremation in Romania, Romanian Months, Merry Cemetery, Public Holidays in Romania, Romanian Academy, Transylvanian School, Budeşti Josani Church, Art of Romania, List of Festivals in Romania, Asociaţia Transilvană Pentru Literatura Română Şi Cultura Poporului Român, Lusophilia, Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brâncuşi in Târgu Jiu, Romanian Dress, George Enescu University of Arts of Iaşi, Ucin, Şapte Seri, Irod, Crăciun, Periniţa, Academia de Ştiinţe, Literatură Şi Arte, Hora Bucuriei, Nu. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 85. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Romanian philosophy is a name covering either a) the philosophy done in Romania or by Romanians, or b) an ethnic philosophy, which expresses at a high level the fundamental features of the Romanian spirituality, or which elevates to a philosophical level the Weltanschauung of the Romanian people, as deposited in language and folklore, traditions, architecture and other linguistic and cultural artifacts. The discussion concerning the existence of a Romanian philosophy has known three stages. Between the two World Wars, after the emergence of Greater Romania, Romanian national identity went through a crisis. Since it was not centered anymore on immediate political goals (national rights, independence, national unity etc.), the idea now had a more pronounced cultural character. Therefore, discussions of "national specificity" in historiography, literature and philosophy became very common. The first h...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=12562715 ... Read more

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Inventing the Jew follows the evolution of stereotypes of Jews from the level of traditional Romanian and other Central-East European cultures (their legends, fairy tales, ballads, carols, anecdotes, superstitions, and iconographic representations) to that of “high” cultures (including literature, essays, journalism, and sociopolitical writings), showing how motifs specific to “folkloric antisemitism” migrated to “intellectual antisemitism.” This comparative perspective also highlights how the images of Jews have differed from that of other “strangers” such as Hungarians, Germans, Roma, Turks, Armenians, and Greeks. The gap between the conception of the “imaginary Jew” and the “real Jew” is a cultural distance that differs over time and place, here seen through the lens of cultural anthropology.

Stereotypes of the “generic Jew” were not exclusively negative, and are described in five chapters depicting physical, occupational, moral and intellectual, mythical and magical, and religious portraits of “the Jew.”

Customer Reviews (1)

picture of the "imaginary Jew" in Romanian and other Central and Eastern European cultures
Oisteanu draws on an impressive body of sources revealing perceptions of Jews in legends, fairy tales, ballads, carols, anecdotes, superstitions, and iconographic representations and compares those to representations by journalists, poets, politicians, and scholars. He presents a picture of the "imaginary Jew" in Romanian and other Central and Eastern European cultures in five portraits, each of them constituting a chapter (the physical portrait of Jews, images of the occupation of Jews, the moral and intellectual portrait of Jews, the mythical and magical portrait and the religious portrait of Jews).

Oisteanu shows how well-known intellectuals and politicians in Romania in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries used antisemitic images. Here, the comprehensive index of names at the end of the book proves to be very valuable. On the other hand, Oi¸steanu gives examples of antiantisemites
who criticized and challenged negative and stereotypical images of Jews, including civil and clerical authorities. In 1792, for example, the government of Transylvania (as part of the Habsburg Empire) appealed to the bishops to fight the belief in and accusation of Jews as ritual murderers. The clergy often played an ambivalent role. For example, the publication of "Arguments against the Jews upon their Law and Customs" in 1803 under the patronage of the Metropolitan Bishop of Moldavia contributed to the outbreak of pogroms in Bucharest and Jassy in the same year. However, the new Bishop of Moldavia, Veniamin Costachi, gave refuge to the Jews in his church and challenged the pogromists. The important role of antiantisemites becomes evident in comparison to the pogrom of 1903 in Kishiney, the capital of Bessarabia and part of the Tsarist Empire at the time. The allegation of ritual murder was endorsed by the bishop, and the Tsarist military did not intervene against the pogromists, resulting in a high number of casualties. Unfortunately, some members of the clergy still endorse antisemitic views. In the 1990s, the theological work Teologia luptatoare ("Bellicose Theology") from the 1930s, which includes blatant antisemitic conspiracy theories and demonization of Jews, was republished under the patronage of the Metropolitan Church of Husi with the imprimatur of His Excellency Eftimie.
Inventing the Jew shows through many details that antisemitic perceptions
of Jews in Romania are deeply embedded in European culture, with some Central-Eastern European, Christian-Orthodox, Romanian, Moldavian, Transylvanian, Wallachian, or other regional particularities. Oisteanu refers to the late process of modernization and the Orthodox Church (in contrast to the Catholic and Protestant Churches) as being influential in developing specific forms of antisemitic stereotypes. In the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, antisemitism seems to have been more religious in Romania and in Eastern and Central Europe than in Western Europe. Many stereotypes still reverberate today in parts of the Rumanian society, particularly in right-wing magazines and political parties such as the Partidul Romania Mare (Greater Romania Party). They are present in popular beliefs, among contemporary intellectuals, and among the clergy. A more detailed review can be found at [...]
... Read more

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The first English-language book to present a complete picture of this intriguing East European borderland, The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the Politics of Culture, illuminates the perennial problems of identity politics and cultural change that the country has endured.Throughout the past two centuries, Moldova was the object of a variety of culture-building efforts from Russian, Romanian, and Soviet influences before emerging as an independent state in 1991. The author

Customer Reviews (3)

Tries to be unbiased and neutral
Charles King, the author of the book, is an assistant professor in the School of Foreign Service and the Department of Government at Georgetown University. Funding for the research on which this book is based, was provided at various stages by the British Marshall Commemoration Commission, in the form of a British Marshal Scholarsip; St. Antony's College and New College, Oxford; the Social Science Research Council, via a Graduate Training Fellowship; and Georgetown University, through the Ion Ratiu Chair of Romanian Studies, to which the author was elected in 1996. Although the author tries to be unbiased and wants to keep neutral point of view, the book somewhat reflects the point of view supported by the organizations above mentioned, and also by the official political point of view of Western countries towards the Republic of Moldova (RM) at a time of writing of this book, although the archival and library resources used by the author were located mainly in Romania and RM. The major sources of information were The Central Historical Archive Division of the National Archives of Romania in Bucharest; the former archive of the Communist Party of Moldova (now renamed to the Archive of Social-Political Organizations of the Republic of Moldova); as well as other sources.

I have used this book as a source of Historical Data to contribute to Wikipedia articles related to Moldova.

Excellently Written
Charles King's "The Moldovans" is an excellently written history of a little known East European borderland and its intriguing people. While its physical appearance and membership in the Hoover Institute's old "Nationalities of the USSR" series may indicate dry and rigid academic work, it is certainly not.
King here has written an interesting history of the Bessarabian/Moldovan people, the first in English, through the context of nation and national identity building. History buffs and area enthusiasts will find themselves enjoying the blend of history, politics and more recent events within newly independent Moldova. For an introduction and some answers to the convoluted and confusing intra-state conflict with the DMR (Transnistria), look here.
The subject could be considered college reading but the writing is clean, clear and professional at a point where you know a highly laudable individual is behind this work, but not some Cornell West writing for the benefit of his fellow academics. King's history is incredibly lucid and readable. This is good history as it should be.

Exceptional and thorough.
This is an exceptional and thorough review of the history of Moldova up to, during, and after the transition to independence from the Soviet Union by an outstanding scholar.While replete with scholarly notes and bibliography, it is also readily accessable to the non-specialist seeking to understand this very interesting country. ... Read more