Travel Culture

Culture Smart! Peru introduces you to the changing realities of modern Peru. It describes contemporary values and attitudes, key customs and traditions, and reveals what people are like at home, in business, and in their social lives. Peruvians are outgoing, sociable, and laid-back; get to know them, and they will respond with warmth and generosity.

The largest and most populous Central American country, Guatemala is a land of contrasts and contradictions. It offers great physical beauty alongside ancient Mayan ruins and a conglomeration of diverse peoples and cultures. It is also unique in Central America in that more than half its population is of Mayan Indian origin. Today the country reflects a combination of ancient Mayan heritage, Spanish colonialism, and modern Western influences, mainly from the United States.

For many people, Brazil conjures up images of football, Carnaval, and fine coffee, but it's much more than beaches and bossa nova. If we had to choose one word to describe the country, it would probably be diversity. The variety of lifestyles, ethnic groups, landscapes, and climates Brazil encompasses is quite simply enormous. This guide provides you with a comprehensive introduction to everything you need to know.

Botswana is a country of contrasts. Culturally, the people are overwhelmingly Bantu, but with more than twenty different ethnic groups and over thirty languages spoken, the society is by no means homogeneous. Culture Smart! Botswana introduces you to the lives of the people. It looks at the history that has shaped the society and shows the importance of traditional customs and values for both travelers and businesspeople alike. It describes how the Batswana live, work, and play, and how to avoid the pitfalls of cultural misunderstanding.

Many tourists visit the Czech Republic knowing no more about it than that the beer is cheap and the women beautiful. That lack of knowledge has led to frustration among Czechs, most of whom are very well-informed about the world around them. Culture Smart! Czech Republic informs you about the traditions, values, and attitudes of a remarkable people. It describes Czech life at home and in the workplace and offers practical advice on what to expect and how to navigate different social situations.

“Helsinki, the capital of Finland, boasts a rich and diverse history that dates back to its founding in 1550. Originally established by King Gustav I of Sweden, the city was intended to compete with the growing city of Reval (now Tallinn, Estonia). Initially, Helsinki struggled to develop due to its remote location and harsh climate, but it gradually evolved into a significant trading post. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the city began to attract merchants and settlers, laying the groundwork for its future growth.”

The image of the rolling hills is inextricably linked to Tuscany. Join us on a journey of discovery, charming cities invite you to take a stroll through history. Florence, Prato, Montecatini, Collodi, Lucca, Pisa, San Miniato, Vinci, Certaldo, Siena, Pienza and Montepulciano.

This thoughtful examination of a century of travel writing about the American West overturns a variety of popular and academic stereotypes. Looking at both European and American travelers' accounts of the West, from de Tocqueville's Democracy in America to William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways, David Wrobel offers a counternarrative to the nation's romantic entanglement with its Western past and suggests the importance of some long-overlooked authors, lively and perceptive witnesses to our history who deserve new attention.

Belgium has somehow acquired the reputation of being Europe's most boring country―a reputation that is entirely undeserved. But perhaps this bland image is a smokescreen, the conventional exterior hiding a subversive sense of humor, a surreal imagination, and a deep-rooted disdain for authority. Or perhaps it is a camouflage, a way in which Belgium, still overrun―however peacefully―by foreigners, can keep a few of its secrets to itself.

Legend has it that when Caesar’s general arrived on Portuguese soil in the first century CE, he claimed to have discovered a country blessed with a mild climate and a beautiful coastline, but whose inhabitants were ungoverned and ungovernable. Today, the Portuguese are still impulsive, set in their ways, and resistant to change, yet they are ever charming, romantic, and nostalgic, with an unshakable loyalty toward family and friends.

The Sultanate of Oman, long regarded as one of the more mysterious countries of the Arabian Peninsula, is finally getting more of the attention it so deserves. An ancient land with a rich history and dramatic landscapes, Oman was largely cut off from the modern world until the accession to the throne of Sultan Qaboos in 1970. Since then this peaceful country has developed slowly but deliberately, placing a strong emphasis on retaining its cultural heritage while moving into the hi-tech era.

At first sight, modern-day Egypt is an unruly and chaotic place: a cacophony of sounds, an overload of smells, and a swirling visual feast. Ancient church domes and medieval minarets share the same space with fast-food chains and chic air-conditioned cafes. Egyptian society has undergone dramatic changes in recent years, yet tradition and deeply conservative views prevail. Culture Smart! Egypt explores the codes and paradoxes of Egyptian life, outlines the country's history, and shows the forces that have shaped its sensibility.

Even for an experienced traveler like Charlie, Cuba is a place unlike any he has visited before - an island full of surprises, secrets, and puzzling contradictions.

Konnichi wa! Have you ever been to Japan? Learn about Japanese animals, foods, culture, and more to see what makes this Asian country unique. Carefully leveled text and critical thinking questions introduce young listeners to nonfiction.

For much of its history Cyprus was regarded as the Cinderella of empires—beautiful, abused, isolated. Today, the island is divided between the Greek-Cypriot south and the Turkish occupied north. However, both sides take pride in a shared "Cypriotness," and are united in their common hopes, pain, memories, music, excellent cuisine, rich history, and majestic landscape. Culture Smart! Cyprus equips you with essential information on the history, values, and attitudes of the people you will meet, their customs and traditions, and offers tips on etiquette and socializing.

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. The Italians are the most European-minded of nations, having emerged from a long history of regional fragmentation.

In 1995, at the age of 23, Michael Meyer joined the Peace Corps and, after rejecting offers to go to seven other countries, was sent to a tiny town in Sichuan. Knowing nothing about China, or even how to use chopsticks, Meyer wrote Chinese words up and down his arms so he could hold conversations, and, per a Communist dean's orders, jumped into teaching his students about the Enlightenment, the stock market, and Beatles lyrics. Soon he realized his Chinese counterparts were just as bewildered by China's changes as he was.

Celebrated as one of the most poignant stylists of his generation, André Aciman has written a luminous series of linked essays about time, place, identity, and art that show him at his very finest. From beautiful and moving pieces about the memory evoked by the scent of lavender; to meditations on cities like Barcelona, Rome, Paris, and New York; to his sheer ability to unearth life secrets from an ordinary street corner, Alibis reminds the listener that Aciman is a master of the personal essay.

From a distance, Saudi Arabia may seem a subdued, or even dull place; but for those who take a closer look it emerges as a fascinating country, not necessarily because of its political and economic importance, but because of its people. Reticent perhaps but, on closer acquaintance, charming and warm, the Saudis form a far less monolithic society than one might expect.

Sarah Vowell travels through the American past and investigates the dusty, bumpy roads of her own life. Her essays confront a wide range of subjects, icons, and historical moments: Ike, Teddy Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton; Canadian Mounties and German Filmmakers; Tom Cruise and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; twins and nerds; the Gettysburg Address, the State of the Union, and George W. Bush's inauguration. The result is an engrossing audiobook, capturing Vowell's memorable wit and her keen social commentary.