Do's and Taboos Around the World

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Summary: advice for the business traveler, tourist, or EFL teacher
Review: Do's and Taboos Around the World was written in the mid-eighties for American businessmen who regularly traveled abroad meeting foreign clients. I bought this book to help teach culture shock to my Japanese EFL students, and, by and large, I am quite pleased that I have it on my shelf. Even though there is a lot less information about women than men, and some information, such as gift giving, appears to be specifically for business people, there is enough general information about many different countries' cultures to make interesting reading. The chapter on body language and gestures appeared to be well researched, and my students were able to learn many things from teaching material that I made using the book as a reference. There may be some people who would read Do's and Taboos and say that the author has distilled a nation's people to a simple stereotype, and to a point I wouldn't be able to disagree with that. However, if I ever found myself in the company of people whose culture I were ignorant of, it would be nice to be able to scan this book for do's, taboos, likes and dislikes, and give myself a reasonable introduction on what I might be likely to encounter. This book is most useful for business travelers, but it is also useful for tourists and travelers, or anyone living in a culture other than their own.

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Summary: A wonderful guide to the do's and taboos around the world!
Review: No book is more need then this book in question, e.g., Do's and Taboos Around the World by Roger E. Axtell (Editor). Especially since we are becoming a global village where business knows no bounds and a savvy traveller should be prepared for anything and everything. For instance, in this book, Mr. Axtell guides the unitiated businesman in the art of dining, and says that yes one should eat everything that is being served by the host, e.g., if monkeys brain or sheeps eyes, are the culinary specialty or considerd heute couture in your host country; then one is obliged to go ahead and eat it. Since, not parktaking in the feasting on the speciality or heute couture can be seen as a major snub, cultural elitism or even worst the host feeling as if his guests viewied their dish as something barbaric that only cavemen or wild dogs eat. I loved the book and I can not wait to try some local specialities since diversity of food, culture and customs is the spice of life.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Resource for International Travelers
Review: The basis of this wonderful book is to show the customs, protocol and laws in societies that may be vastly different from the society in which you live.

The book is categorized according to country, and includes cartoon type illustrations of face gestures, hand and arm gestures, and what they mean. In some countries the same gesture has a completely different meaning, which anyone who uses a lot of body language would do well to learn.

The section on Graceful Gift Giving brings valuable insight so as not to insult anyone from different lands, as gift giving is viewed in different ways according to different cultures.

Whether you are going on a business trip, or are traveling for academics or adventure overseas, it is important to learn the customs of each country.

On a personal note, if you ever go to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, do NOT sit on the rock from which Mohammed Ascended (as I innocently did to pray for world peace) because you can be murdered or jailed for that alone - unless you happen to have a professor who is fluent in Arabic that saves you from harsh penalties, which I was fortunate enough to have. ASK about the Sacred sites in Sacred lands BEFORE you attempt to touch or sit on anything.

Do's and Taboos also provides commonly used terms spelled out phonetically from many lands, so that you can converse among the locals graciously.

Highly recommended for all international travelers.
Barbara Rose, author of, 'Individual Power' and 'If God Was Like Man'