Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands (The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More than 60 Countries)

Customer Reviews:

Full of mistakes - Swedish example

By Oskar Lindstr?m "Oskar" - March 2, 2005

This book is a complete joke. It was recently ridiculed in a Swedish business weekly for its description of Sweden. According to the book's authors:

1. The indigenous population in the north of the country are called lapps. The expression sami is somewhat derogatory. In fact it's the opposite! This is as if a European guide book on doing business in the US suggested their readers use the word "negro" instead of "african-american." Also, the Sami number some 20,000 persons, not really vital information if you are visiting a country of 9 million people. Moreover, comparing them to American indians or Australian aborigines is somewhat misleading, the non-sami population groups began to settle what is today Sweden sometime 2000 BC.

2. According to the book English is spoken in the major cities but if they plan to do business outside of the urban centres, they should speak German! This may have been true fifty years ago. A visiting US business person would should... read more

Don't Leave Home Without It

By A. C. Shellhase - December 16, 1999

For we who live in the US, our knowledge of the geography, language, and customs of other countries is sometimes appalling.So, it's a good thing there are books like this to help relieve our gauche-ness and keep the egg off our faces whether traveling or putting our businesses out on the Internet.An alphabetical listing from Argentina through Venezuela, each country section has a small line map with the name of the capital city located inside.They all begin with a short cultural note, followed by:=> Country Background: Short history; Type of government; Language; Religion; Demographics.=> Cultural Orientation: Cognitive styles; Negotiation style; Value Systems.=> Business Practices: Appointments; Negotiating; Business entertainment; Time (in relation to Greenwich Mean Time).=> Protocol: Greetings; Titles/forms of address; Gestures; Dress; Gifts.Things you might not know include:=> more than 14 major languages are spoken... read more

It should include more countries and be updated

By Justo S. - October 4, 2001

I compared the information in this book about my own country and the one I'm living and it is almost correct; at least, if you follow what it says, you would not have problems when dealing with people from those places.I have met people from several countries and so I know much of the information in the book is right and useful, as well.In 4 to 10 pages per country, you'll learn the basis of history, language, people's way to handle information, and so on. It's a very good starting point. Moreover, I liked very much the political correctness of this book: The style is very respectful of cultures and people (in most cases).Two problems: 1) It should include more countries. It would be a nice resource of data about the places the people you meet come from. 2) The information should be updated, let's say, in a web page, since the world changes continuosly.However, you'll get a very nice picture about the places and people described in the book.