Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable but dated
Review: An American friend, five years in Australia, lent me her 1999 version of this book. I've been here two years, from England, so I found it interesting. I agree that it has been inconsistently updated, and the Australia of 1991 seems to have been different in many ways to the Australia of 2004. Also, life in Perth must be different to that in Brisbane, where I live, 2,700 miles away. For a start, they play Australian football (and soccer) whereas Rugby League is the main game here.It would be highly surprising if the author's views/perceptions and mine tallied 100%, but in fact they do quite a lot. I was interested, for example, in her correct perception of sport being a good conversation topic, not least at dinner parties. Coming from a somewhat bourgeois part of the south of England, I found that a most refreshing change. One problem the book has is that it sets out to be amusing (successfully) and serious: on tax for example. For the serious side, some of the drier books on living and working in Australia, or emigrating here, are better. Finally, I found myself liking the author and her style. She comes across as pleasant and with a light touch.
Rating:
Summary: A interesting book with some negative overtones.
Review: Culture Shock! Austtralia an interesting read, a good addition for anyone planning to travel to OZ. The book appears to be written for prospective Asian immigrants, through the eyes of a English born author Ilsa Sharp. I found the first chapters rather negative, pointing out some unfavouable opinions and facts, and I wondered why Ms Sharp wanted to immigrate to this country. Generally a humorous and in the most part a fair assessment of OZ. But, may I indicate some misconceptions and omissions. Everyone knows that the European settlement started from a convict origins, but the vast number of the new comers were immigrants. OZ is not ashamed of its beginnings, and tracing your family has become an ever growing past time for many families - yes the common folk. Alas, I found none of my family in the prison system and lament this lack. It is of special interest and prized to have a nefarious relative and is not an insult to point this out (as many have tried), but rather reflects the ignorance of the person attempting to be insulting. In the past decade, our history is becoming ever present in our daily life, both the good and the bad bits. The book ties to say that no Asian had lived in OZ till recently, it is a pity they missed out of the Chinese folk who came here around the Gold Rush days - yes almost as long as the Europeans. A town called Broome in Western Australia has had close connections to the Malays and Indonesians prior to the First Fleet. Ms Sharp missed the contibution of the ANZACs in World War One - the Western Front - France and Belgium- they died in their thousands, along side those of other Commonwealth nations and US troops. It is said at least one out of every family were killed in this war. They were called 'diggers' as they dug the trenches, where they died. Lest we forget. The thoughts of independence started from here, to stand on our own two feet as a nation in her own right. I was further surprised that under 'survival sense' that heat stroke/exhaustion and sun burn were not mentioned - a real danger, as a German couple found out recently. Respect for mother nature. A surprising misconception is the lack of formality in business. Ms Sharp has sited several situations, number 3, really bothered me. The option that is correct is A, we are a parochial people and hold store in good manners, we don't always thumb our noses at every situation. If a worker did choose option B they would be out of a job or out of business. I did not find the conclusions expressed to be funny - I found it insulting. I did not look at all closely at some sections, politics and economics { as they change everyother day) and anything printed can only be historical in context. Still this book can make for some interesting readings.
Rating: 
Summary: helpful book, squares with my experiences
Review: Full-disclosure comment: I myself have not been to Australia. I review the book from the perspective of one who has known many Australians, though, and called a number of them friends. That said, this book rings true with what I've seen of the Australian people--an exceptionally diverse group who are, as Sharp shows, a more complex people than some give them credit for being. Those cultural facts that are particular to Australians are well detailed. Topics that are hot button issues inspiring strong difference of opinion in Australia seem to be detailed in a fair manner. Americans in particular may find the comparison of the Australian frontier/outback ruggedness ethic to our own cheerful Western cowboy self-reliance (so to speak) of great interest. They differ, but with similarities. Both have worked their way well into our respective national psyches. Someday when I hopefully visit Australia, I believe I'll feel better informed about the various dos and don'ts of Australian life thanks to this book. Recommend for anyone going to Australia, or who has a close Australian friend and wishes to better understand him or her.
Rating:
Summary: helpful book, squares with my experiences
Review: Full-disclosure comment: I myself have not been to Australia. I review the book from the perspective of one who has known many Australians, though, and called a number of them friends. That said, this book rings true with what I've seen of the Australian people--an exceptionally diverse group who are, as Sharp shows, a more complex people than some give them credit for being. Those cultural facts that are particular to Australians are well detailed. Topics that are hot button issues inspiring strong difference of opinion in Australia seem to be detailed in a fair manner. Americans in particular may find the comparison of the Australian frontier/outback ruggedness ethic to our own cheerful Western cowboy self-reliance (so to speak) of great interest. They differ, but with similarities. Both have worked their way well into our respective national psyches. Someday when I hopefully visit Australia, I believe I'll feel better informed about the various dos and don'ts of Australian life thanks to this book. Recommend for anyone going to Australia, or who has a close Australian friend and wishes to better understand him or her.
Rating: 
Summary: Not at all what I expected
Review: I don't find this book very helpful in general. I am very disappointed in the content.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating. I loved it.
Review: I find this book very useful and funny at times. I have been to Australia many times and I am surprised not to know many of the customs and etiquette that make an Australian unique until I read this book. This book is especially very helpful to new permanent residents like me with the intention to live in Perth like the author. Highly recommended to people who is thinking of migrating to Australia.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful guide to know Australians better.
Review: I find this book very useful and funny at times. I have been to Australia many times and I am surprised not to know many of the customs and etiquette that make an Australian unique until I read this book. This book is especially very helpful to new permanent residents like me with the intention to live in Perth like the author. Highly recommended to people who is thinking of migrating to Australia.
Rating:
Summary: An almost excellent introduction to OZ
Review: I have travelled extensively in Australia on three trips between March, 2001 and November, 2002, and purchased this book to fill in information about Australian culture, lifestyle and current happenings where guidebooks are usually pretty thin. It almost did the job for me. The author, Ilsa Sharp who is an immigrant from Great Britain by way of Singapore, wrote this introduction to Australia for publication in 1992. She had only lived in Australia two years then. She has revised it four times since, in 1994, 1997, 2000, and 2001--or almost revised it in those years. Unfortunately her comments on things that are subject to change jump around so that the reader cannot tell whether or not they are current. There are lots of phrases like "Here's the drum, as the Australians say, the latest on property, at the time of writing, in late 1991..."(p. 156) For anyone who wants to know about purchasing property, comments about 1991 are just too old to be useful. This strangly "updated" edition stumbles over itself in this fashion on many topics, moves forward mentioning events in 1996, 1997 and even 2000 before slipping back into comments like "At the time of writing, the rule on importing aged parents is that..." without telling when this comment was written or whether the rule is still in effect in 2001. You may not care about the rule on "importing parents" but there are other issues handled the same way that you probably would care about. The book needs to be thoroughly up-dated and edited so that the reader will know what the current situation is. That said, there are many well-written chapters on things that do not change much in a decade: Australian language and slang, how Australians see themselves and how they are seen by others, Aboriginal experience and how Euro-Australians have treated them, the "leisure ethic," mateship and machismo, tucker (food), attitudes about working and about the environment, etc. These are worth the exasperating confusion left by the other stuff. The cover of the 2001 edition claims it is a "NEW EXPANDED EDITION." That may be, but what Culture Shock really needs to do is to get it all brought up to the present so the reader knows what's going on now. Would I recommend it? You bet. Much of the information is difficult to find elsewhere, and the author is on the mark in her witty commentary.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting info, but painful writing style
Review: This book does contain some interesting information on Australian culture, and on what makes Aussies tick. But I found the writing style to be particularly annoying, even painful. The Australia book available within the "Culture Smart" series, while offering less detail than this book, is far easier on the eyes and mind.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating. I loved it.
Review: This book gave a feel for life in Australia. It is fascinating. "Customs and Etiquette" are more informative than facts and figures when understanding people from another place. Too bad our history and geography books aren't more like this book. Australia is a BIG place, so understanding the people is like understanding ALL Americans. Not so easy. I loved it.
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