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 (5)

Loved this guide!
My mom and I travelled all through Norway last summer and this guidebook was with us every step of the way. Definitely recommend!

A Concise Briefing for the Business Traveler
This is a short little book that gives a concise overview of Norwegian history, culture, food, etiquette, etc. for those who are planning on interactions with Norwegians in Norway.I think it is primarily of value for the business traveler who is going to Norway for meetings, it covers such things as business culture and meeting etiquette, Norwegian interaction styles, etc.It would also be useful for those who are going there to perhaps meet relatives, or attend school.

I read the whole book cover to cover in an afternoon.It would be a good book to read while on the flight to Norway.I am planning a vacation to Norway and I have highlighted a lot of info that I plan to refer to when I am briefing the other members of my travel party.

A Decent Introduction to Norwegian Culture
My wife and I took a trip to Norway over the summer and we found the Norwegian people to be very intriguing. We noticed that the Norwegians often behaved in ways that were very different from the other Europeans we had encountered on our travels. An Oslo bookstore had a copy of Culture Smart Norway for sale and we bought a copy.

Culture Smart Norway is a decent introduction to the country. Author Linda March helps those who know little about Norway to improve their basic knowledge. Those seeking in-depth information, however, will want to look elsewhere.

The book has several strong sections. I particularly like the chapters on values and attitudes, social life, home life, and business etiquette. March also provides information on Norway's history that helps explain why Norwegian culture evolved into its present state.

Through Culture Smart, I learned several interesting things, including the following:
a) Norwegians enjoy telling jokes about their Swedish neighbors. (March provides some samples: "A Swede called the airline and asked how long it would take for a plane to get from Stockholm to Paris. 'Just a minute,' replied the clerk. 'Thank you' replied the Swede, then hung up").
b) Foreign nationals often find that it is very different to make friends with Norwegians, owing to the fact that Norwegians are reserved and very wary of strangers.
c) Norway has twice turned down membership in the European Union. March attributes Norwegians' reluctance to join the EU to the fact that Norway has been an independent country since only 1905. She says that Norwegians are reluctant to give up their sovereignty after such a short period of time.

Much of the material is mediocre, however. March wastes time on material that goes somewhat far afield of culture; too much of the book focuses on basic information that one might find in any travel guide. Some of the sections, moreover, are simply not interesting. March includes long, boring sections on Norway's holidays, transportation systems, and its oil industry. The book is also a bit short at just over 160 pages.

Culture Smart Norway is not a bad book. But after I finished I felt as though it could have been much better.

Great Book
I love this book.It's written like someone talking to you.It's a great concept and I'm thinking of purchasing books from other countries.

Good insight for the Norwegian culture
Norway - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!) by Linda March provides a series of useful hints for those willing to get into the Norwegian culture. I have been dealing with Norwegian people for more than eight years and been to Norway twice so I can support many of the articles in the book. I don't remember finding any misconception at all, what is pretty rare when it comes to this kind of books. The only drawback are the pictures and illustrations, hence the 4-stars. Although it is not meant to be a photo album, maybe if the images were not monochrome, it would become more appealing to the reader. Minor flaw, though. All in all, I recommend it.
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Customer Reviews (6)

An Introduction to Living in Norway
"Culture Shock Norway" is designed to be an introduction to customs and etiquette in Norway.Norway is a distinct society, far more diverse than its relatively small population of five million people might suggest.Any guide to a country at least as diverse as Norway is, must inevitably offer a great many generalizations from the author's necessarily limited point of view.That said, this book provides a useful overview of the experience of living in Norway.

"Culture Shock" provides interesting commentary on Norway's laws, customs, and culture.Considerable coverage is given to the challenges of moving to Norway and operating in its business environment.This information may be especially interesting to an American visitor expecting Norway to be just like home.For the first time traveler, this book will provide a leg up on getting acclimated. It may be useful to read the short bio on the author in the back of the book before reading the main text, in order to understand her point of view.

This book is recommended reading for the person planning to visit Norway or to take up residence in Norway.

Somebody's been joking with the author
As a former bookstore employee I sometimes took the time to check out the books we had. Reading travel books about my home country was fun because there will always be many incorrect facts and also stereotypes about the country. (You know, like "all Norwegians are blonde") This book somewhat captured the essence, the mentality of a Norwegian, but had, by far, the highest number of incorrect facts. Som much so, that I believe the author has been asking local Norwegians for facts and they've been trying to see how many strange things they could make her believe. And she did.
Take it from me, I recommend Eyewitness Travel Guides instead.

Culture Snooze
The book had alot to do with bringing kids to Norway, which is a book in itself. That being the case, it should have been another title and not so saturated a subject in this book.
The text really did not have alot of meat to it.
Pleasant, but not substantive.

Good information
I bought this book for my girlfriend when she came from South Africa to live in Norway. I had to read it first of course to see how Norwegians were portrayed. And I found the book quite amusing. The author has in my opinion done a very good job when it comes to describing our habits, food, customs and so on. And it gave information that one can normally not find in the normal tourist guides. I'm going to Thailand later this year and I will buy a Culture Shock Thailand so that I can understand their ways better.

Mere Drivel
This book contains very little useful information on Norwegian culture and etiquette -- and is a rather poorly structured continuum of platitudes and commonplaces with limited practical application, especially for someone already familiar with Western civilization (!) in general. Not worth the price, not even as entertainment. ... Read more

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Culture and Customs of Norway provides an up-to-date view of Norway, showcasing a nation that is part of modern Europe, yet zealously maintains its own culture and identity. Providing the most current information on a broad range of topics—including cinema, literature, food, art, performing arts, and architecture—the book also places modern-day Norway in a historical context that makes it possible to understand how Norwegian culture came to be as it is today.

Readers will discover a nation that is a fascinating juxtaposition of advanced technology, especially in such fields as oil production and climate, and some of the most spectacular natural beauty in the world. They will read about such famous writers, artists, and composers as Henrik Ibsen, Edvard Munch, and Edvard Grieg. And they will discover how Norway confronts the challenges of modern society without sacrificing its social-democratic philosophy of social justice and shared responsibility, both at home and globally.

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This work represents an original combination of Schutzian life-world theory with newer versions of critical theory in the field of multiculturalism and identity politics. As such, it represents a novel use of social phenomenology. It is a comparative qualitative work exploring the social foundations for different forms of identity politics based on the position as 'other' in western Europe today. ... Read more

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Based upon intensive field work in Norway, made possible by a Fulbright Research Grant, this pioneer study explains the Norweigian way of life from an American point of view that is sympathetic and analytical. ... Read more

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Norway has recently come to the attention to global strategic planners.This report puts these executives on the fast track.Ten chapters provide: an overview of how to strategically access this important market, a discussion on economic fundamentals, marketing & distribution options, export and direct investment options, and full risk assessments (political, cultural, legal, human resources).Ample statistical benchmarks and comparative graphs are given. ... Read more

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In 1934 Frank Buchman’s Oxford Group movement, a precursor to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), was invited to Norway. It made a deep impression upon Ronald Fangen, a young novelist and dramatist. Thereafter, as a Christian humanist, he attempted to persuade the Church to appreciate and learn from the Arts since such efforts would support the proclamation of its message. His writings beckon readers to sense with him the constant tension to communicate in the best way the Christian message in each generation; with this tension Fangen wrestled. The challenge continues today.

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At some time in the late 9th century, a Norwegian seafarer by the name of Ohthere [Oht-her-e] told the West Saxon king Alfred of his voyages along the coasts of Norway and Denmark. Ohthere's report made such an impression at the court of King Alfred that it was recorded and subsequently inserted into the Old English version of the late Roman world history by Orosius, accompanied by Wulfstan's account of a voyage across the Baltic Sea. Ohthere's account is the earliest known description of the North by a Scandinavian and gives a fascinating and highly trustworthy glimpse of the early Viking Age. Since the 16th century, Ohthere's voyages have been debated by an ever growing number of scholars, such as linguists, historians and archaeologists. In this book, a panel of experts presents the original source in its geographical, cultural, nautical and economic context. ... Read more

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Social life in Norway, as in other Scandinavian welfare states, may be characterized by the phrase "individualism as well as collectivism." Gullestad interprets the significance of this in terms of some implicit understandings that Norwegians bring to social encounters. She focuses on the social practices and cultural categories that people use in building personal relationships: marital love, family life, friendship, and neighborhood relations. ... Read more

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Norway is one of the world's leading fishing nations and is also acknowledged to be in the vanguard of world developments in farming salmon and trout. How this came about and the techniques of salmonid farming applied in that country are explained in this well-illustrated book. The author while employed in the Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Agricultural University of Norway was in a position to give a factual account of the rapidly growing industry. In 12 chapters he outlines development of salmonid farming in Norway, the production cycle, freshwater supplies and hatchery siting, smolt and fingering production, siting of sea units, fixed sea units, floating net cages, food and feeding, disease, marketing, economics and finally he discourses on the future on the future of this valuable industry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Anyone fancy a salmon trout?
I confess that I purchased this book in error, thinking it was something to do with the Norwegian tobacco industry (a market that I had assumed was untapped, and at that time my "next big thing").It's not hard to see, though, that our mistakes can be every bit as rewarding as our intentions.

Such was the case with this little book. Edwards's magnum opus compares favourably with its rivals that focus too much on the salmon end of things, without ever addressing the needs of the trout farmer (of whom I know many).In particular, food and allocation of space (more realistically, water) are addressed, and so, too, is the correct spelling of the words "fjord" and "gravadlax". ... Read more

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Public bureaucracies are the workhorses of contemporary government, responsible for implementing public policies, and in the process making far more laws than do legislatures and adjudicating more cases than do the courts. How do bureaucracies function within a political system? How do they behave in the context of surrounding systems? To what extent do governmental structure and political culture shape the performance of bureaucracies? In this comparison of two countries-Norway and the United States-the authors analyze similarities and differences in political-administrative systems, measuring the capacity to govern and the influence of structure and culture in each case. They provide a framework for a broader understanding of public bureaucracy, its importance in a given political system, and how it interacts with other institutions to govern. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A great book on the story of the Norwegian Jews
This is a terrific book on the story of the Norwegian Jews. Very accurate, informative, well written and has lots of very well selected high quality photographs and illustrations.Thanks to Abel Abrahamsen for putting out an English language book on this amazing story. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Countries and Their Cultures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 2199 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the broad range of popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the twentieth century. Beliefs, practices, symbols, traditions, movements, organizations, and leaders from the many traditions in the pluralistic American community are represented. Also includes cults and phenomena that drew followers, such as Heaven's Gale and UFOs. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education), published by T.H.E. Journal, LLC on January 1, 1991. The length of the article is 2155 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: The Norwegian Ministry of Education uses a group of proprietary software development tools to facilitate its curriculum development. The software development agenda, initiated in 1984, sought in particular to strengthen the education available to far-flung minorities such as the Saami of northern Norway, to support the preservation of the cultures of such groups and to develop a network for the promulgation of teaching materials. An open-ended system known as the Grimstad Model was developed that uses proprietary development tools known as Mosaikk, SimTek and GrafTrix. Using these tools, educators are able to standardize and model educational software programs and distribute them on a national network. One example of the success of the model is the way that Saami teachers have developed software for reindeer breeding, a traditional occupation of that minority group.

Citation Details
Title: Norway's educational technology strategy preserves a minority culture. (Norway's Saami population benefits from development of educational software)
Author: Margrethe Steen Hernes
Publication: T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 1991
Publisher: T.H.E. Journal, LLC
Volume: v18Issue: n6Page: p60(3)

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Chapters: Norwegian Literature, Midsummer, Russefeiring, Culture of Norway, Saint Lucy's Day, Norwegian Constitution Day, Gammleng-Prisen, Languages of Norway, Whaling in Norway, Art of Norway, Gjenganger, Norwegian Photography, Fritt Ord, Norwegian Romantic Nationalism, Semla, Spynorsk Mordliste, Jante Law, Arts Council Norway, Norwegian Year of Cultural Heritage 2009, Færeyinga Saga, Rosemaling, Ola Nordmann, Norwegian Media Authority, Norwaco, Bygdedans, Frikar Dance Company, Mottos of Norwegian Institutions, Public Holidays in Norway, Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority, Hausmania, Ufo Sightings in Norway, the Norwegian Folk Music Series, Norwegian Society of Composers and Lyricists, Dugnad, Little Saturday, Norwegian Comedy Writers' Association. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 175. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place around the 24th of June and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between cultures. European midsummer-related holidays, traditions, and celebrations are pre-Christian in origin. They are particularly important in Northern Europe - Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden - but are found also in Ireland, parts of Britain (Cornwall especially), France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, the Ukraine, other parts of Europe, and elsewhere - such as Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, and also in the Southern Hemisphere (Brazil), where this imported European celebration would be more appropriately called Midwinter. Midsummer is also sometimes referred to by Neopagans and others as Litha, stemming from Bede's De temporum ratione in which he...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=221226 ... Read more