Do's and Taboos Around The World

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Summary: Should be in every international travel's suitcase.
Review: Although it is couched in humor and packed with adventurous tales, this book covers a serious subject! It is so easy to destroy a mutually-advantageous export sale by saying or doing the socially incorrect thing while in a foreign country. Regardless of your international travel experience, it is a good idea to read (or review) this book BEFORE you depart on your next overseas trip. Mr. Axtell is an expert on how to behave in foreign countries and has written other equally valuable travel books. Our consulting staff recommends the "Do's and Taboos Around the World" to every client who is planning an overseas business trip. John R. Jagoe, Director, Export Institute

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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.

Rating:
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: To do or not to do
Review: I bought both this book and Axtell's 'Gestures' to help with research I am carrying out. I have not read either from cover to cover yet, as I have been brought to a confusing full stop. In 'Gestures' I am told that in Egypt one should eat everything on the plate, and yet in 'Do's and Taboos' I am told that it is impolite to eat everything! There is also a discrepency in the meaning of the 'two finger tap' - in 'Gestures' this means 'let's be together' but in 'Do's and Taboos' it is rude and indicates either that a couple are sleeping together or that you are being invited to sleep with the tapper! With anomolies such as these appearing just from the first country I have looked at, I feel I cannot take any of the information offered as reliable. The books are therefore, in my view, only to be considered as light reading giving a very rough overview but bearing in mind that there are errors which could lead to very embarrassing situations - and the whole reason for buying the books was to avoid such situations.

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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.

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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'

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Summary: Should be in every international travel's suitcase.
Review: The book is o.k.. It contains some good, practical, quick advice. However, it won't help you deeply understand the people you're dealing with. For that, a book like «The Seven Cultures of Capitalism» is a lot better. With «The Seven Cultures», you'll learn why Hollanders accept criticism a lot better than Italians and that the French and the Japanese are pretty much alike on many aspects. But then, haute cuisine isn't always what one looks for.

Rating:
Summary: Is to international business what fast food is to cuisine
Review: The book is o.k.. It contains some good, practical, quick advice. However, it won't help you deeply understand the people you're dealing with. For that, a book like «The Seven Cultures of Capitalism» is a lot better. With «The Seven Cultures», you'll learn why Hollanders accept criticism a lot better than Italians and that the French and the Japanese are pretty much alike on many aspects. But then, haute cuisine isn't always what one looks for.

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Summary: Superb guide for any businessperson
Review: This is just the guide that I was looking for before I began a new round of international travel. The tips have been priceless.

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Summary: Dos and Taboos
Review: This title offered so much promise. I was really looking forward to reading it and ofcourse decided to start by checking the two countries I know really well, Australia and Japan. Well disappointment just isn't strong enough. How can you trust a book that makes major errors when talking about cultures that you know? Frankly, I can not recommend this book to anyone given the inaccurate out dated infomation I found in the two countries I know really well... Surely there are better books on foreign cultures than this. If not it is not suprizing that Americans have difficulty in understanding people from other countries!