Accent of Success, The: A Practical Guide for International Students

Rating:
Summary: if only it had been available then...
Review: dr. shiraev's and dr. boyd's book, which i have recently read alongside a few other books on giving advice to international students coming to the united states in order to reccommend a work for friends of mine planning to come to study in the states, is by far the best that i have come along. it poignantly addresses all the issues of importance for a foreign student, leaving little to be desired, without being patronizing or attepting to prescribe receipies of how one is to manage once arrived. maybe it is the unique or if not unique: successful combination of a foreign and domestic point of view, that manages to be very precise and diligent in sketching out that, which is to be expected by those who come from cultures that are both very different, but also seemingly similar. indeed, as a german, i have found out that the seeming similarities of western countries contribute much to the skewed expectations of students that culminate often in a rude awakening, often without knowing why. it is often less important to be pointed towards the obvious, after all, if i had come to the us from myanmar, or swaziland, i would have known very well THAT i was to expect great differences and hence would have been more aware of them. even at the danger of being redundant: in my opinion the danger or difficulty is more often, that differences are not obvious and thus not expected. these subtle differences, different attitudes not perceived up front, the accumulation of otherness in often miniscule details are put forward in a way that i would have very much appreciated being told when i came to the us. unfortunately, then the book had not even been conceived. alas, now it exists - and i would not reccommend any other book but this to anyone coming to the us, in particular those 'familiar' with the western or european lifestyle.