Product Description

Jane Walmsley shares George Bernard Shaw's belief that America and Britain are two nations divided by a common language. In this title she looks beyond this shared facade to see the great gulfs that separate us in such areas as tastes in food, dress, home decoration, the way we conduct business, vacation, engage in sex and even die. Her prototype American is an eternal optimist who believes it is only a matter of correct technique and will power to become beautiful, clever, skinny, successful and healthy. A Brit, on the other hand, seems to expect disaster at any moment, so lives with a certain detachment, content to muddle through as best he or she can. Walmsley pokes gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) fun at both cultures and in the process offers a portrait of our cultural differences.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18100 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Review
'Candid and humorous' Washington Post; 'Jane Walmesley furnishes hard and often very funny truths' Philadelphia Inquirer

About the Author
Jane Walmesley was born in New York, but she married an Englishman and has lived in London for over 20 years. She has a daughter who is - as she puts it - "haff and hawf".

Customer Reviews

Hilarious, very perceptive
Having lived for 2 years in New York and 7 years in London, I loved this book and felt it really rang true. It highlights some core values and differences in perceptions between US and UK culture that endure, despite speaking (almost) the same language and sharing many sitcoms and retail chains. It's a very quick read, and very funny - it had me giggling out loud on several tube journeys, as well as giggles from the strangers around me reading over my shoulder! There were occasional points which seemed overly stereotypical or slightly out of date, but this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. Highly recommended

Better than Bill Bryson
I am "British" (born in UK, grew up in SA) and my wife is American. We've lived in the US, Netherlands, France and the UK for last 3 years. This book is the best explanation I've ever read to help me understand my mother (British through and through), my new neighbours and my in-laws. On a recent visit by my in-laws I read the part on the US view of death (your fault if you die, you haven't eaten well enough/exercised enough/etc.) expecting "yes, but ... " commments. All I got was "damned right! Of course it is." And at the same time you get a really good chuckle.

I read it originally in NL. Reread it again since living in the UK and a whole slew of new observations about Brits suddenly made sense!

If you like Bill Bryson, you'll love Brit-Think Ameri-Think.

A must before crossing the Atlantic!
An essential, light-hearted look at the differences between our apparently similar cultures. With wit and fact it unravels the not so subtle differences and leaves it up to the reader to decide who is the weirdest!

A must for the plane - what ever direction you are crossing the Atlantic.