Product Description
Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.

Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include


* customs, values, and traditions
* historical, religious, and political background
* life at home
* leisure, social, and cultural life
* eating and drinking
* do's, don'ts, and taboos
* business practices
* communication, spoken and unspoken


"Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel

"... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel

"...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer

"...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine

"...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times
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Customer Reviews (2)

New Zealand Culture
Designed to be a handy pocket guide, this small book provides general, though not particularily detailed information for anyone who is traveling or emigrating to New Zealand. If you are looking for a brief overview of NZ customs and culture, you should find this book helpful.

Great intro to New Zealand
I just recently finished reading this little book, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn't know much about NZ. It is indeed a "quick guide" but it has a surprising amount of information packed into a few pages. My only "complaint" is that the author doesn't mention any negatives--I'm willing to believe it's a wonderful place, but there must be SOMETHING less than fabulous about it. All in all, it was worth the purchase. ... Read more

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A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette in New Zealand

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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.

Notable features of the entire Culture Shock! line of titles:* A comprehensive source of detailed information about more than seventy travel destinations* Written by individuals, often ex-pats, who have lived in each country and experienced life there * Full of anecdotal information that is insightful and useful to know before you leave home

CULTURE SHOCK! COUNTRY guides:* Provide full explanations of social and business customs* Use practical examples and personal stories* Include a helpful Appendix of Dos and Don'ts * Provide a cultural quiz to test your understanding* Include a calendar of festivals and holidays ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

This book is a great preparation
I really loved this book because it prepared me for everything. The only thing that would have made it 5 stars is if it was a longer book. It hits every topic I could think of.

good for setting the tone...
this book is maybe more indepth than most travelers will need for a brief stay like mine will be - 2 weeks- but for someone looking to stay longer or to move there this is a terrific resource. I'm hoping to get off of the beaten path in my time there so I am paying close attention to this book.Right now I can't wait to get there.I hope I can remember my manners!

Useful guide for new arrivals
We run an international recruitment company assisting migrants from the UK to settle in New Zealand and have been looking for suitable book(s) to give them as preparation for what to expect on arrival.We ourselves have lived in several different countries and my husband is a migrant to NZ so we knew what we were looking for in this regard.I was really disappointed to find that many books which were last 'updated' or 'revised' in 2003 or 2004 have actually only had minimal revisions and are quite out of date on most aspects including referring to legislation or government departments that changed in 2000-2001.Not so with this one - all information is up to date as at 2004, and I only noticed 3 minor factual errors or omissions in the whole book.

Peter has written a good general introduction to life in NZ and shares from his own experiences as a migrant.The book highlights aspects of NZ lifestyle that immigrants from a variety of backgrounds could find new or unusual and he provides a fairly good list of information websites at the back of the book for people who are willing to do their own legwork to find out more.I was pleased to find that Culture Shock has added a New Zealand title to their list as I have found their books useful for other countries, and as a New Zealander I would have to agree with the information that Peter is presenting.It will be interesting to see how our new migrants find it!The only wish I would have is that it could cover even more ground, but of course authors have to set limits somewhere, and there is that handy list of websites to refer to... ... Read more

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Introduces the geography, history, religion, government, economy, and culture of a Pacific-island country first populated by the Maori, to whom it was the "Land of the Long White Cloud." ... Read more

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The beauty and accomplishments of New Zealand has stretched its influence around the world for thousands of years. Now readers can delve into the specifics of this country—examining among other things, the customs, religions, music, and fashion—that make i

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In this fascinating book, historian Neill Atkinson looksat New Zealand's merchant seafarers working in the coastal andinternational trades during the first 100 years of the country's life.During this time, seafarers were among the most important anddistinctive groups of Nealand workers.Whether wrestling with canvashigh above the deck in a howling gale, or heaving coal in the stiflingbowels of a steamship, their strength and skill were indispensableback in the days of sail and steam.

These men had a vibrant subculture, with its own language, songs, rituals and myths, which exerted an influence on the development of male identity in New Zealand.Yet while there have been many books published on famous ships, master mariners, shipwrecks and shipping lines, and many stirring tales told of mountainous seas and heroic deeds, the lives of ordinary sailors have remained obscure.

Beginning around 1840, when Maori played a prominent part in the coastal trade, the book charts the rise of steamships and their eventual dominance over sail, and closes with the Second World War, by which time New Zealand's domestic shipping industry and the distinctiveness of its workforce were on the wane.

Atkinson explores the rhythms and routines of working life at sea - the rigorous discipline, harsh conditions and constant dangers; the lore of the sea, including yarns, shanties and rituals like crossing the line; the struggle for improved working conditions and the conflicts that arose from the rigid hierarchy dividing seamen and their officers; the alluring world of the waterfront, with its boarding houses, bars and brothels; and the traits which these men embodied their rough, hard-drinking ways, their generosity and stoicism, their pride and prejudices and the strength of their mateship.This is the original crew culture, which subsequently helped to shape the work and social habits of other groups of men, from the kauri bushmen to sports teams, in New Zealand's unique history of male endeavor. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Useful introduction
The premise of this book is fantastic: it aims to be an introduction to New Zealand culture geared toward the educated but non-specialist American. By explaining dominant trends in NZ literature, describing some of this literature's historical context, and relating it to American culture, William Schafer outlines some answers to the questions of what it means to live in New Zealand, and how that nation has structured its unique identity. On a more basic level, this book gives its readers a sense of what NZ lit and film is available, and thus provides a spring board for an independent exploration of NZ culture. Schafer's quotes and discussion of the fiction of Witi Imihaera (author of the novel The Whale Rider, upon which the 2003 film is based), for instance, were particularly attractive to me and, as a result, I have since read several of his works. Mapping the Godzone opened a new world to me, and I look forward to continuing to explore NZ culture under its guidance.
While the book's aims are laudable, its execution is not quite as impressive. Schafer tries to avoid the jargon and heavily theoretical analysis of contemporary literary criticism, but at times he slips up and his prose drags. At other times, he is somewhat too summary in his discussions--particularly when he relies on series of lengthy quotes by other critics. The quotes from literary sources should be well appreciated, since they provide a window into the style of many authors; the quotes from scholars simply seem to point to laziness on the part of the author. Could he not sum up the material himself? Besides these (not too grave) issues of style, the content of the book could have been improved. Clearly Schafer (an English professor) was mostly interested in the literary achievements of New Zealand. However, he does intend his book to be a primer on culture as well, and to achieve this end he would have done well to include more of popular and visual culture in hi
s book. He does write a short section on film, but it consists mostly of a list of movies that the reader might find interesting.
Despite its flaws and shortcomings, Mapping the Godzone is a unique resource for the American reader curious about New Zealand, and it seems to be an excellent overview of that country's literature. I am glad to have found it. ... Read more

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Culture Wise New Zealand is essential reading for anyone planning to visit New Zealand, whether for business or pleasure, for a few days holiday or to start a new life. It is guaranteed to help newcomers avoid cultural and social gaffes; make friends and influence people; and enhance their understanding of New Zealand and the New Zealand people. ... Read more

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Whether you are traveling in luxury or with just a pack on your back, it's important that you have a safe, fun, and easy-going trip. Bad etiquette and a misunderstanding about customs can put an otherwise very exciting trip on hold faster than a bad case of food poisoning.The CULTURE SMART! titles are not your basic travel guides: they are consistently updated customs and etiquette references for more than 25 countries. Now more than ever, travelers are more than just sightseers and tourists; they're ambassadors making impressions of the United States wherever they go. You will find this series to be invaluable for pointing travelers to a safe and fun trip abroad. ... Read more

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The story of the generation of New Zealand writers who came of age in the 1930s and who deliberately and decisively changed the course of literature is told in this book, shedding important new light on the key participants, such as Allen Curnow, Denis Glover, and Robin Hyde. The movement is traced through small circulation magazines and small press publications from 1932 to 1941. The repudiations and loyalties by which the movement defined itself are explored, including its opposition to the literary establishment and to late Georgian verse, its naming of its precursors and allies from the 1920s, and its choice of overseas models such as the British Moderns and the new American short-story writers for the creation of a new literature. Also covered is the anti-myth the Phoenix and Caxton writers created to oppose the cultural myths supported by the literary establishment and the writers' responses to the worldwide social upheavals of the period-the Depression, the international crises of 1935 to 1939, and World War II. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more