Product Details
Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette

Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette
By Deborah Swallow

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Average customer review:
If you're thinking about moving to Finland, this will be your bible. You'll learn everything you need to know about Finnish culture, customs, business etc.. - It's a must have, and a long-time personal favorite of mine.

Product Description

A Guide to the culture and etiquette of Finland allowing the traveller to understand the Finnish people and enjoy their stay in Finland whether business or leisure.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1036446 in Books
  • Published on: 2003-04-26
  • Original language: English
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 260 pages

Customer Reviews

For anyone with Finnish connections, this is a must!5
The book is well written and an easy and engaging read. The author seems to be very perceptive in her observations, and well researched. After I finished reading this, I made my Finnish husband read it, and he has been laughing out loud at his own nation. I personally agree with 90% of the author's views, but I must say I would never describe Finnish summers as humid, and as for there not being a Finnish 'look' - well, I can spot a Finn a mile off!

Strong on culture but flawed as a guidebook4
We bought this book for a slightly different perspective on Finland, in advance of a two-week trip there, as we wanted to know a little bit more about the character of Finland than guide books would tell us. Mostly, this book served us well in that respect, giving a bit more detail about the nature of Finnish culture, why Finns behave the way they do, common mistakes and faux pas for foreigners to avoid when in the country, that kind of thing. Besides the writing style being a tiny bit glib, this book does that job well.

What did disappoint me about this book is that it doesn't appear to have been checked over during a recent re-write. Facts and figures change during the course of the book- for example on page 131 the Winter motorway driving speed is listed as 80kmph, but two pages later apparently it's 100kmph? The distance of Helsinki Vantaa airport from the city centre changes between chapters as well. With little mistakes like this it does undermine your trust in using the book as a definitive guide.

So, strong on the Culture but a little flawed as a guidebook.