France

Culture Shock!

by Sally Adamson Taylor

Culture Shock! adds two new "At Your Door" city lifestyle guides and one new country guide. The release of more Revised and Expanded Culture Shock! country editions continues with thirty-one now available. With over 1.5 million copies sold worldwide, the Culture Shock! brand name is recognized as the leading reference source for international customs and etiquette.

Genres: Travel, France, Nonfiction, Cultural, Reference, International

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1991

Reviews

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great book with tons of good information about being in France for a visit or an extended period of time. It was nice to find detailed information not included in other books, such as--but not limited to--really good info about how to select wine in a restaurant in France. This is one of the books I would want to take with me. It's also a well-written book, but that said, it has an amazing number of little grammatical errors that popped up once or twice every chapter or so--over a dozen in the book altogether. They are minor things such as saying "you bank" instead of "your bank," "in integrated" instead of "is integrated," and other similar things. It's not enough to be really poor grammar, but enough to be jarring when you read it and make your read it again to see what it really meant. It's almost as if the text was scanned in and then run through a spell-checker, without a human proof-reading to see if it really made sense. Also, I was glad to see that the author was American, because many of the books on France are British. They are still useful, but Brits enjoy benefits in France from being part of the European Union that Americans don't share, and books written from that perspective can be a little frustrating. However,this book surprisingly used British spellings such as "tyre" for "tire" and "pyjamas" for "pajamas." It adds weight to the suspicion that it was run through a (British) spell-checker. It also included British expressions such as "boot" for "trunk" (of a car). Although the publisher's address is in the United States, it seems to be a subsidiary of a British publisher. Kind of annoying to assume that an American writer means an American-oriented text and find it to be not so much so. Still, a very good book despite the annoyances.

[NorthernDove · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good information to start you off. It has a similar flavor as many travel guides would have but with cultural habits, attitudes and tips instead. Has good resources. I read the version reprinted in 1997, so some information may be outdated, but general cultural trends tend to change more slowly, a fact the author points out, and many of these remain accurate and good food for thought. She encompasses the multitude of persons and travel reasons in which one may experience culture shock....travel, relocation, private or business, all ages. Even for those interested in France and French culture who are not anticipating relocation or a lengthy stay, this would be a good read.

[Theron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inherently applicable, and easily accessible perspective and advice on the challenges and charm of moving in and out of French culture. Highly recommended for anyone with a French adventure on the horizon, whether in work, love, or life.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are going to France, read this book.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is 20 years old, so some of it is out of date, but it still contains some useful information.

[Piper Winchester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe a little outdated but gives you a view of French life and what you need to know

[KissD · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reason I'm giving it 3 stars is because it's getting outdated. An interesting glimpse into everything French from an expats point of view.

[Mano Chil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fabulous book to read about France and its culture and history and everything in between.

[brianne · Rating 1 out of 5]

while this book does have a lot of information, i'm not sure how much of it is true. i'm concerned with the errors that i found throughout, particularly the "useful words and phrases" that closes the book. for the record, the french "comment" is mostly used as "what" and not "how," "qui" certainly does not mean "why" but "who," and "pourquoi" is not "who" but "why." as a book written (i assume) for people without a lot of prior knowledge about france and/or the french language, these are huge errors that call into question the validity and accuracy of the rest of the book. i found that too often the author focuses on paris, which misleadingly implies that the entire country is like the major city. i was also not impressed with the general tone of the book, which was condescending and full of typical french stereotypes.

[Sundry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is geared more toward the person who is going to live in France than the casual vacationer, but there are interesting perspectives here and some nice hints about just not seeming like a complete oaf. Like remember to say hello and to use title like Madame, etc., when beginning to talk to people in shops.

There are also nice historical notes and descriptions of each pays. Worth a look, though I think I could have done as well getting it from the library as buying it.

I bought Rick Steve’s France 2007 to take with me. I like his attitude.

[Caro · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is part of a series called "CultureShock," aimed at helping us avoid looking like total idiots abroad. Apart from the advice for people planning to move to France, the tips here were easily found in other books (greet people when you enter and leave a store), or were not entirely accurate (based on my one week in Paris, people really do occasionally walk around smiling). A quick read.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this for my study abroad course, actually. I saw some of the things the author was talking about when I was in France, but mostly the book felt like a lot of generalizations. Also, the book felt very business-oriented at times and I wasn't terribly interested in that (it certainly didn't assist me when I was abroad).

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an invaluable resource before and during my time living abroad in France. I had textbook culture shock symptoms including getting physically sick during month three. It was nice to have reassurance that everything that I was going through was normal and expected.

[Alyssa]

My mom used to get these books for me before I went on a trip somewhere. I don't think I read this one as much as I did the China one, and I don't really remember much from it. Not enough to give it a star rating, anyway!

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good series of books. I would think especially helpful for someone moving to France. Good for the traveler too though.

[Micaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great tool for anyone going to visit or live in France.

[Tammie Painter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific Culture Shock book with plenty of tips on how to interact with the French, what to expect at a restaurant and more.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Information for those that want to move to and live in France. Information is cursory in nature and not geared toward the tourist. Brief summaries of the history and customs are included.

[Pablo De Leon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a French native, who thought I should read before visiting. It was an absolute enjoyable read. So much of it was truly helpful.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful reference but some info seems dated.