Old World/New World: Bridging Cultural Differences: Britain, France, Germany and the U.S.
This is a book about cultural differences and a lesson on linguistic relativity the concept that language reflects what is important in a culture. Storti (The Art of Crossing Cultures) explores how people from different cultures have different values, beliefs, and ideas of good and evil, morality and immorality. Through the socialization process, people internalize the code of conduct that others expect from them. Consequently, behavioral patterns vary from society to society. The founder of Communicating Across Cultures, a Washington-based training and consulting firm, Storti has collected 51 cross-cultural dialogs and analyses, paying special attention to both the explicit and the implicit differences between Americans and people from Britain, France, and Germany. Among these groups, Americans and the French have the least in common, while Americans tend to have relative affinity with Germans (e.g., Germany, like America, is more like a meritocracy, whereas France and Britain have an aristocratic history). Storti's brilliant insights into the cultural differences of these uniquely diverse nationalities both educate and entertain. Recommended for all academic libraries. Tim Delaney, Canisius Coll., BuffaloCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.