CultureShock! Netherlands: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette by Hunt Janin, Ria Van Eil

I have lived in The Netherlands for only four months. I have looked at several sources of information about the country: its culture, customs, language, history, climate, geography, tourist attractions etc.. I found Mr. Janin's brief (167pp) volume to have been very well-done. I believe his 25 years as a U.S. diplomat (but not in The Netherlands) have taught him what an outsider needs, to begin to understand a culture. He combines the personal experience of others–in this case, his Dutch wife, her family and many of their friends and acquaintances–with pofessional writings. He even includes an 18-item english-language reading list. The range of topics covered is broad–geography, climate, history, language, customs, principal attractions, even a "culture-quiz" to help the reader understand what s/he has learned about the culture at the end of the book. The coverage is also balanced: he includes both pluses (egs.respect for others, language ability) and minuses (egs.drug use, immigrants and asylum seekers). He readily recognizes that, however helpful it might be to understanding the society, the Dutch view of themselves–which he capsulizes–is not likely to be objective. I wish he had included information on regional differences in the Dutch language, customs and attitudes. But, that minor quibble aside, I think Mr. Janin's goal in writing this small book ("to help [the reader] become [a] well-briefed foreigner." (p.10)) has been achieved in an admirable fashion. I think it is an informative, easy-to-read–even entertaining–book that is well worth reading.