usenetposts
07.08.05, 03:38
"Shortcuts to Poland" is the name of a book, now in its second edition and on
sale at the chain of American bookstores, of a humorous but informative book
by Laura Klos Sokol.
I bought this book, and was very pleased with it. It explains very well the
cultural differences between Poles and others, being made up of 60
odd "toilet-sized" chapters, spanning 182 softcover bound A5 pages. The
publisher is International Publishing Service Sp. z o.o. and the ISBN is 83-
921149-0-6. It is written from the American perspective, and teaches us a lot
about both nations by the continual compare-and-contrast approach, across a
range of topics.
I ought to mention that there are numerous amusing cartoons linking to the
text every few pages. These seem to be ascribed, but not very unanimously, to
Piotr Ziolkowski.
A useful sequel to the book might be all the business, tax and bureaucracy
differences that there are. If LKS doesn't write that one, I might be tempted
to give it a go.
Anyway, I certainly recommend it as 29.99 PLN well spent. The price may vary
of course, as Poland does not have a net book agreement, and there is no
printed price on this.
It contains more content than Richard Berkeley's "Points of View", a rare
title that deals with Polish-British cross culture, at times quite savage
about his particular bugbears, nothing wrong with that, and it is very good
but too thin, and the Xenophobes guide to Poles, which is dumbed down, not up-
to-date, and too bogged down in improperly researched stereotypes which are
not recognisable, like the Klos Sokol book, and gives the impression of
having a less proficient observer as author.
I would put this book into the hands of anyone thinking of coming out to
Poland.
Has anyone else got books about Polish culture that they would like to share
some thoughts about?