101 American Customs : Understanding Language and Culture Through Common Practices

Rating:
Summary: amazon is a wonderful shopping place
Review: i have received this book with it's back cover bent, i sent the
amazon an expression of my frustration and told 'em that because
i have no time to return it i won't but if i have time i would have returned it even if i pay as much in shipping it back to 'em. they instantly replied to me and offered me a 20% refund. i replied by saying thanks i wanted to see how you treat your customers! and i am not interested in the refund, they instantly replied by informing me that they have shipped a new book for me without any charge! and if i don't return the one i already have then "they understand!"[besides the shipping is free as they provide postage label for my return ] what a wonderful place to shop in, I'll give it the thumbs up!

Rating:
Summary: For Higher Level Students Only.
Review: I use this book in my E.S.L. classes in Japan. I like it because it presents the idioms in neat "one point lesson" packages. It's great for introducing students to the strange expressions of genuine spoken English. As cheerful as the illustrations are, they can be a little misleading. The vocabulary used in the explanations needs to be explained sometimes so I would only use this book in my higher level classes.

Rating:
Summary: Great coverage
Review: I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It has far more material in it than I expected. There are eight sections: special occasions, courtship and marriage, body language, enjoy, all in the family, let's have fun, red letter days, and the icons of America. Most of them are not customs per say but cultural aspects and oddities. It includes such diverse topics as the tooth fairy, separate phone lines for teens, and demolition derbies. Each topic includes an example of how it would be talked about. There is also a cartoon which is cute but unrelated to understanding the custom.

The only real disadvantage is the language level. I would expect a book on this subject to have fairly simple English but this is far from the case. Of bedtime stories it says they "provide the stimulation so necessary for children's intellectual growth." Also some of the explanations don't really capture the spirit of the custom: "Tupperware parties are gatherings where people display and sell versatile plastic products to their friends." I think this definition would greatly puzzle someone who had never been to such a party.

Rating:
Summary: "I Give it a 3" <--- from the old American Bandstand Days.
Review: This book is fun, informative but lacks depth as far as a real source of topics. And, the dialogues/jokes? at the bottom of every explantion page are a bit lame. But the cartoons are cute.......

Rating:
Summary: "I Give it a 3" <--- from the old American Bandstand Days.
Review: This book is fun, informative but lacks depth as far as a real source of topics. And, the dialogues/jokes? at the bottom of every explantion page are a bit lame. But the cartoons are cute.......