Review by Booklist Review
Begun in 1977, these "people maps" present the unique customs, beliefs, and traditions for a country's people in a four-page summary. Fifty-one countries in the Americas and Europe were covered in the first compilation of Culturgrams [RBB Ja 1 86]. This newest compendium profiles more than 100 countries, with volume 1 covering the Americas and Europe and volume 2 including many of the nations of Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University updates the existing profiles annually, prepares new ones, and sells them individually or in batches. The work under review is the bound compilation of all the currently available Culturgrams. Each country summary includes details on how to visit in private homes, explaining gestures, customs, and courtesies. For example, showing the bottom of one's foot is derogatory in some traditions, so crossing one's legs is inappropriate in many Middle Eastern cultures. Information about business conditions, common languages, diets, holidays, and polite and impolite actions are complete enough to assist the reader in contacting people from the various countries. Also included for each nation are brief descriptions of the land and climate, history, government, economy, education, health, transportation, and communication. Profiles conclude with information for the traveler, the address of the country's embassy in the U.S., and a suggestion to "consult your local library" for more detailed information. This work does not claim to produce country experts; it is intended as an introduction to each country and its people. Many other sources present more detailed textual and statistical information about the economies, governments, and demographics of various countries. The strengths of Culturgrams include its discussion of life-styles and its presentation of the differences among the cultures of the world in an easily understood manner. The work gives the reader a better understanding of the difficulties that a foreign visitor or student may have in adjusting to our culture, just as it provides U.S. natives with an introduction to customs that would be encountered when visiting other cultures or nations. This source is especially useful as a multicultural teaching aid in junior or senior high schools, as well as in colleges. The work provides practical and quick information for the teacher, traveler, overseas worker or developer, and libraries where patrons search for such knowledge. Although not covering all countries of the world, its affordability and possible uses recommend this new edition for public, school, and undergraduate collections. (Reviewed Apr, 1, 1993)
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
