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
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Customer Reviews (6)

Very interesting
The Swiss people love to tell visitors about the history of their country. Reading this book first helps you understand them better and allows you to ask intelligent questions.

Helpful information
It's always helpful to understand the history and cultural ways of a travel destination.Makes the place more interesting and I don't act ignorant like an ugly American, lol!

Comment from a Swiss
I bought this book for a friend in the U.S.A. As a Swiss I was very curiouse to read how "the Swiss" are.
I can agree with most things in the book and recomand "Switzerland - culture Smart!" to everybody who is interested in getting a quick overview about the general Swiss culture and attitude.

Switzerland - Culture Smart!
I bought this book as a gift for a graduate student who was going to work in Switzerland for two years.However, I did look through it before giving it away, and I had done quite a bit of research on line before picking this particular item.The book seemed to me a very practical guide for someone taking up residence in Switzerland, and was not so much meant for the casual 2-week vacationer.The sections on cultural differences between the Swiss and other people were particularly interesting, and would head off some awkward moments for a new immigrant.The parts about rules for apartment living sound quite strict for someone from America, but, again, would prevent misunderstandings between Swiss and foreign tenants.There are also the more usual guidebook sections on recreation, such as hiking, skiing, eating in restaurants, etc.The student who received the book proclaimed it "great", and I think it will come in handy in the months ahead.

really a quick guide
it doesn't have much picture inside. But it is really a quick guide if you want to know Switzerland more. It included history, culture, value and also some kinds of usual greeting style. It's a nice pocket size book :) ... Read more

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A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette in Switzerland

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Customer Reviews (7)

Absolutely disappointing
As other revierws mention, this book is not an explanation of Swiss culture but rather an autobiography of the author. This is very disappointing, because I've read other culture shock books which were a thousand times better.

Then, this book is completely outdated because of the things she is talking of (company names change over time!). She mentiones that the PTT have been split into the Post and Swisscom, however "PTT" is seen all over the book. Why not just say "the post office"?

Since the author lived in French part of Switzerland, the focus is only on this and not on the bigger German part. The translation of some words are just plain wrong. She says the butchers shop is a "Fleischerladen". This is completely wrong, in Switzerland you will never find this word. It's called "Metzgerei".

I'm from Switzerland and before offering this book as a gift I had to read it. But it's useless. Another book might be much better. Still looking around.

Author: This is supposed to be about SWITZERLAND, not you!
I won't mince words:This book is AWFUL!Hoping to find the Swiss equivalent to the excellent "Culture Shock!France"edition, I was extremely disappointed.The France book does exactly what it should, it gives some helpful clues to getting along with the French and understanding their reasoning, so that your interactions with them, both business and personal, will go smoothly, without cultural differences causing unnecessary conflict.

The Swiss edition is terrible.Rather than offer helpful, insider tips to the Swiss mind, the author gives you an autobiographical account of her first year of life in Switzerland.If you picked up this book, it's because you're curious about the culture and lifestyle of the Swiss, including how to get along with them, and how to think like a Swiss.Unfortunately, the author herself is a NOVICE to Switzerland and its people, making her as ignorant about the country as the average Joe!Sure, through time she may pick up on a few things about her neighbors and her butcher, but it's not likely, as her outward focus usually falls on her family and their experiences.Use the photos included in the book as an example:My husband unpacking our things in our new apartment.My mother and father taking bottles to the recycling center.Sadly, this shows how little interaction the author had with the Swiss, therefore making her unqualified to write this book!

But, let's not discredit the author entirely.She was only writing what she knew about (which wasn't much).The Culture Shock editors should be ashamed of themselves for not selecting a more qualified writer who would follow the standards of the rest of the series.

THIS BOOK WOULD BE A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!

Only for the complete novice
If you have any experience with Switzerland, or even Europe; you will learn precious little from this book. There are better books to buy on the subject.

Grammar Shock!
You'll learn more about the author and her problems, especially with modifiers, than you'll learn about Switzerland. Any Swiss student who completes Gymnasium studies can write better English. The publishers of this series should pulp the book ASAP. They have a good concept, but clearly didn't edit the book.

not for those with any european experience
If you are hoping for an in depth analysis of customs in Switzerland, this book certainly will not deliver. This book is intended for those with zero experience in european customs, or even those with no experience with western culture at all. If you have been to europe before, this book will probably be of little help to you. The lonely planet guide is probably a better choice. There is an interesting chapter on the history of Switzerland - but you can get that from any encyclopedia. On the other hand, this book was not written from an American standpoint which could be a bonus for people that are not familiar already with Euro-American custom. I give it three stars because the advertising suggests that this book is much more than it is. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent
This book describes Swiss culture very accurately and nicely. The author does a fine job in describing the diversity that exists in this country and yet identifies the common themes for the whole country. The author describes well how to approach Swiss people and how to work with Swiss poeple. An excellent introduction to Swiss Culture!

great, & accurate introduction to swiss culture

Being Swiss and having lived abroad for almost two years now I feel entited to judge this book. Not only do I know my own cultuer but also i have gained enogh distance to my own culture to perceive better what constitutes Swiss culture is.I highly recommend this book.It is a great indtorduction to Swiss culture. The author managed to describe Swiss culture accurately, respectfully and a fine sense of humour.

Not even accurate
I just bought the book this week and when I finally had a chance to look at it I am extremely disappointed. I flipped directly to the chapter that is my primary concern: language. The entire chapter talks all about Swiss German. One doesn't have to know much about Switzerland to know how multi-lingual the country is. The book doesn't mention anything about French, Italian, or Romansh. Highly recommend NOT buying this book and finding your information elsewhere. ... Read more

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Strong regionalism in Switzerland makes it difficult to speak of a homogeneous Swiss culture. The influence of German, French and Italian culture on their neighbouring parts cannot be denied. The Rhaeto-Romanic culture in the eastern mountains of Switzerland is robust. ... Read more

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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 2262 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

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Dos and Don'ts in Switzerland: The Traveler's Guide to Culture (WonderWorks) paperback book is no longer supported or available directly from Wilson Learning Corporation. Thank you for your interest. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Don't buy this book(Dos and Don'ts in Switzerland)
The content of this "book" is printed on one side of 4.5 pages.The remainder of the nine pages include the title page, a general blurb about the group that put it together, and some information lifted from Edward Hall.Even though it is a stretch to label this scanty pamplet as a "book", we had hoped that the concentrated content would be useful or insightful.No on both counts.

Virtually all of the pointers are both common-sensical and apply across most if not all Western cultures.We actually read this book in less than ten minutes while traveling in Switzerland.It includes such gems as don't smoke at dinner and keep your elbows off the table -- useful advice for someone who as never experienced any version of Western culture. ... Read more

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How can you explain the charm and originality of Berneand the Bernese? If you've ever tried to do this in English, you'llrealize how special this book is. Berne is a city rich in contrasts: amodern capital with medieval landmarks, colorful, quaint, a littlequirky - quietly international yet cozily local. Three prominentBernese writers (a journalist, a film-maker and newspaper editor)share their personal perspectives, highlighting a wide range ofsubjects from history to the lively rock scene. Peter Studer'smagnificent photographs portray the city's many moods, capturing theexpected and the unexpected and Berne's easy-going charm. There's alot more to Berne than its clock towers, shopping arcades, bear pitsand houses of parliament. Discover why Berne is a whole way of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Info from the Swiss Federal Capital and Culture
I enjoyed this book a lot.I actually purchased it in Switzeraland as a reminder of the year that I lived there.The book even mentioned things that I did not know about living there!I recommend this book for anyoneinterested in the culture, life, and government of the Bernese and Swisspeople in general. ... Read more

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On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts in Switzerland face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts to Switzerland? How important is Switzerland compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts vary from one country of origin to another in Switzerland? On the supply side, Switzerland also exports human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts. Which countries receive the most exports from Switzerland? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers?

This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts in Switzerland. With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be contented with a local view. Nor can managers be contented with out-of-date statistics which appear several years after the fact. I have developed a methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts for those countries serving Switzerland via exports, or supplying from Switzerland via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models.

In what follows, Chapter 2 begins by summarizing where Switzerland fits into the world market for imported and exported human blood, prepared animal blood, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms, and similar products excluding yeasts. The total level of imports and exports on a worldwide basis, and those for Switzerland in particular, is estimated using a model which aggregates across over 150 key country markets and projects these to the current year. From there, each country represents a percent of the world market. This market is served from a number of competitive countries of origin. Based on both demand- and supply-side dynamics, market shares by country of origin are then calculated across each country market destination. These shares lead to a volume of import and export values for each country and are aggregated to regional and world totals. In doing so, we are able to obtain maximum likelihood estimates of both the value of each market and the share that Switzerland is likely to receive this year. From these figures, rankings are calculated to allow managers to prioritize Switzerland compared to other major country markets. In this way, all the figures provided in this report are forecasts that can be combined with internal information sources for strategic planning purposes. ... Read more

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Chapters: Lgbt Events in Switzerland, Christopher Street Day, Pink Apple, Queersicht. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 18. 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: Christopher Street Day (CSD) is an annual European LGBT celebration held in various cities across Europe. Only Germany and Switzerland use the term CSD, in other countries, the same kind of event is called Gay Pride or Pride Parade. Austria calls their Pride Parade Rainbow Parade. The most prominent CSD events are in Madrid, Spain, Cologne and Berlin, Germany, and Zürich in Switzerland. The CSD is held in memory of the first big uprising of homosexuals against police assaults that took place in New York's Christopher Street in Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969. The so-called Stonewall Riots took place in the bar Stonewall Inn. New York has celebrated the Christopher Street Liberation Day on the last Saturday of each June since 1970. The first German CSDs took place in Bremen and Berlin in 1979. Other parades before 1979 still had different names. The first documented LGBT parade in Germany was in Münster in April 1972. The first parade in Switzerland was celebrated on June 24, 1978 in Zürich and was called "Christopher-Street-Liberation-Memorial Day." Almost every large town in Germany celebrates CSD. Due to organizational reasons, the CSDs do not take place on the historic date of June 27, but on different weekends between June and August. On the one hand, CSDs are considered political parades, and therefore also include speeches, political mottos, and attendances and patronages from well-known politicians. On the other hand, CSDs are often compared to carnival processions or techno parades, in which celebrating and partying are the main focus. This is the idea of all gay pride parades: through celebrating, the LGBT community ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=828142 ... Read more

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With over 1100 entries, written by an international group of some 150 contributors, this is the first encyclopedia ever to cover social, political and cultural life throughout the post-1945 German-speaking world. In over 1,100 entries written by an international team of over 150 contributors, this unique work encompasses the cultures of East, West and post-unification Germany, as well as Austria and Switzerland.

From the extensive overview articles of up to 2,000 words, to the shorter factual entries, the encyclopedia is thoroughly cross-referenced and includes useful further reading suggestions, along with a comprehensive index.

Subject areas covered: Architecture, Cultural Policy and Institutions, Economy, Education and Research, Fashion and Design, Film, Food and Drink, History, Intellectual Life, Language and National Identity, Literature, Mass Media and Publishing, Music, Peforming Arts, Political Life, Religion, Society, Sport and Leisure, Visual Arts, Writers.

Sample entries: advertising; Autobahn; Berlin Wall; Boom, Berlin Building; cabaret; drugs; Frankfurt Book Fair; Frisch, Max; Ganz, Bruno; garden gnomes; greens; Herzog, Werner; Klemperer, Otto; Love Parade; Mercedes-Benz; Neo-Nazism; prostitution; Richter, Karl; Schwarzenegger, Arnold; skinheads; television drama; Waldheim, Kurt; and much more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Guide for German Culture
This book is very interesting to read.It breaks down culture in several areas and everything is very well organized and easy to find.It provides lots of information on many topics and people but nothing is too in depth.I was thinking of using this in my German classroom but the words and sentance structure are college level.I would recommend this book to adults who have an interest in German culture. ... Read more