The New Beyond Chocolate: Understanding Swiss Culture

by Margaret Oertig-Davidson

For nearly twenty years, Margaret Oertig-Davidson's 'Beyond Chocolate' has stood as the definitive guide to living and working among the Swiss. Now comes an all-new edition, for an all-new Switzerland-a country that has firmly arrived in a multicultural, globalised age. Oertig-Davidson examines the Swiss through the eyes of hundreds of people who have lived and worked here, and her insight will help any reader gain respect and understanding for the diverse people that make up Swiss society. From friendship to professionalism, teamwork to leadership, education to etiquette, Oertig-Davidson provides concrete and simple advice to manage the challenges of integration. Go beyond Swiss chocolate, and immerse yourself in Switzerland's fascinating, modern and multifaceted society.

Genres: Nonfiction

222 pages, Paperback

Published March 29, 2019

Reviews

[Elisa]

This book takes itself far too seriously. It is written like it is a deep study, rather than just being based on anecdotal evidence, and it makes differences sound depressing and hard to take rather than an interesting thing to observe and try to work with.
It could have used a bit of humor to make everything more palatable, instead it just reads like a culture shock manual written by a government official. DNF so no rating, but I really don’t recommend it.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this book up on an on-and-off basis while juggling other readings for my PhD. Provides exactly what it says on the tin: anecdotes about Swiss culture and advice on living in Switzerland.

After 4 months of living here, I decided that I needed some guidance on my new environment. This book covers a lot of ground for nearly every situation, from working to dating to studying. Maybe academia has ruined me forever (Narrator: It has.), but I wanted more historical or sociological reasons why Swiss culture is the way it is. To be fair, the author states up front that she does not provide much more than anecdotes from herself and others as the basis of her book. Still, some chapters are not very long and leave something to be desired.

I suppose I could say that I now recognize Swiss culture, but I'm still not entirely sure I understand it. I would still gladly recommend this book to anyone coming to stay in Switzerland for an extended amount of time. We need all the help we can get.

[Dipuponski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and handy book for foreigners living in Switzerland, answers many questions that you did not even realise to ask.

[Pauline B (Dancing Lawn) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

[Andre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and light book exposing some of the characteristics of local culture and how to fit in. Nice read.