Books by Barry Tomalin

Italy - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

by Barry Tomalin

Italy delights and stimulates with its magnificent cities and monuments, its stunningly beautiful landscapes, the glory of its art and architecture, the richness and variety of its food, the elegance of its design and fashion, and the vitality and charm of its people. Italian style and culture have been exported all over the world.

What is it like at home? Almost ten years after the 2008 banking crisis, Italy struggles to maintain its standard of living, the stability of the currency, and its ability to provide jobs for its school leavers and university graduates, many of whom now leave to work elsewhere in Europe. In addition, the influx of refugees from southeast Europe and across the Mediterranean is putting pressure on both its security and its economy. How are traditional Italian society and politics changing to deal with these challenges, with its most famous political personality of the last ten years, the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, still apparently waiting in the wings?

The Italians are the most European-minded of nations, having emerged from a long history of regional fragmentation. Culture Smart! Italy introduces you to their history and culture and offers an insider’s guide to their daily lives, passions, and preoccupations. This is your chance to get to know them better.

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Germany - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

by Barry Tomalin

With the FIFA World Cup in its pocket Germany is feeling its social, political, and economic power once again. After organizing a successful World Cup in 2006 and winning it against Argentina in Brazil in 2014, Germany sees a note of confidence, even triumphalism, permeating the country.

As a European leader committed to the success of the EU and the Eurozone, Germany is a leading driver of European affairs. It emerged from the recession of 2008 as the strongest economic power in Europe, and German manufacturing, product brand value, and exports are going from strength to strength.

What are the implications of this new world confidence for German society itself? In the last few years we have seen East and West Germany come together socially and achieve a greater degree of economic balance as a long-term result of German re-unification. At the same time German society itself is internationalizing, with increased immigration and the adaptation of age-old values and attitudes to a multinational, multicultural era. Traditional attitudes of formality and rigid protocol in business are softening as German business globalizes.

This new, updated edition of Culture Smart! Germany examines these changes. It explains how German traditional values and working methods are adapting to take advantage of international opportunities and global society while maintaining the commitment to quality, organization, and time that marks out German business life. It shows how the traditional differences between Germany’s regions are lessening, enabling society to come together and better absorb new immigrants, and above all how Germans are losing the fear and guilt associated with their twentieth-century wars and finding a new voice on the international stage.

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France - Culture Smart! The Essential Guide to Customs and Culture

by Culture Smart, Barry Tomalin

Don't just see the sights--get to know the people.



The French are "different." You'll often hear this in conversations among the "Anglo-Saxons," as the French like to call English-speakers. "Different" means charming, challenging, questioning, stylish, and doing things in their own way and to their own advantage.



By looking at the attitudes and values of the French, and explaining how French life and business works, Culture Smart! France shows you how to fit in as a foreigner. It gives practical advice on how to avoid faux pas and how to behave in different contexts. It takes you through French history, festivals, and traditions, and describes the French at home and at work. Above all, it shows you how the French communicate, and how to get the best out of this idiosyncratic and brilliant people.



Have a richer and more meaningful experience abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on history, values, attitudes, and traditions will help you to better understand your hosts, while tips on etiquette and communicating will help you to navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

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No copies available.

Italy - Culture Smart! The Essential Guide to Customs and Culture

by Culture Smart, Barry Tomalin

Don't just see the sights--get to know the people.



Italy delights and stimulates with its magnificent cities and monuments, stunningly beautiful landscapes, the glory of its art and architecture, the richness and variety of its food, the elegance of its design and fashion, and the vitality and charm of its people. Italian style and culture have been exported all over the world. At home, however, Italian society and politics are facing challenges as the country struggles to maintain its standard of living, the stability of its currency, and its ability to provide jobs. The influx of refugees across the Mediterranean is putting pressure on both its social fabric and its economy.



Culture Smart! Italy is an insider s guide to their daily lives, passions, and preoccupations. It introduces you to their history and culture, and provides vital information and practical tips to help smooth your path in different social situations.



Have a richer and more meaningful experience abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on history, values, attitudes, and traditions will help you to better understand your hosts, while tips on etiquette and communicating will help you to navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Copies

No copies available.