Travel Culture

Eight fantastic stories, brilliantly retold, reaching from Africa to the United Kingdom. Hours of audio fun to keep children entertained while on the move! Introduce your children to a selection of folk tales from around the world, written especially for children. Filled with sound effects and...

Nestled in the Caucasus Mountains at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Georgia plays a geopolitical role far greater than its size would suggest. Its strategic location has been both a blessing and a curse, however. Once a battlefield of the Christian and Muslim worlds, today it is caught between its EU aspirations and its location in Russia’s backyard.

Costa Rica is renowned for its tropical beauty, the warmth and charm of the "Ticos"—its people's own name for themselves—and its political stability. This "Switzerland of the Americas" is widely regarded as an oasis of democracy in turbulent Central America. Since the first edition of Culture Smart! Costa Rica was published in 2005, however, there have been some important changes and, with rapid economic development, some growing pains.

Chile - Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs, and behavior in Chile, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. This concise guide will tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.

Indonesia, stretching across three time zones and situated on one of the world's great maritime trade routes, has a rich and varied culture. Culture Smart! Indonesia describes the many different cultural backgrounds that make up this rainbow nation, helping you to better understand the values that underpin its diverse society. It reveals how modern Indonesians view themselves and go about their daily lives, and gives advice on how to navigate unfamiliar situations.

The “astonishing and deeply poignant” (The Washington Post) memoir of one man’s search for a beloved family friend explores the depth of Iranian culture and the sweep of its history, and transcends today’s news headlines to remind us of the humanity that connects us all. Growing up in...

Before Alaska became a mining bonanza, it was a scenic bonanza, a place larger in the American imagination than in its actual borders. Prior to the great Klondike Gold Rush of 1897, thousands of scenic adventurers journeyed along the Inside Passage, the nearly 1,000-mile sea lane that snakes up the Pacific Coast from Puget Sound to Icy Strait. In Darkest Alaska explores the popular images conjured by these travelers' tales, as well as their influence on the broader society.

This collection of Culture Smart guidebooks introduces listeners to China, Japan, and India. Each guidebook includes concise chapters on the local customs, traditions, and values of the country's inhabitants and, crucially, the key historical and cultural events that have shaped them. There are sections on social and business etiquette, tips on communication, both verbal and non-verbal, and advice on how to be a good guest.

This collection of Culture Smart guidebooks introduces listeners to Italy, Germany, and Spain. Each guidebook includes concise chapters on the local customs, traditions, and values of the country's inhabitants and, crucially, the key historical and cultural events that have shaped them. There are sections on social and business etiquette, tips on communication, both verbal and non-verbal, and advice on how to be a good guest.

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.

If you are looking for a country where everything works like clockwork, now might be a good time to turn back. If you can relax and go with the flow, however, you will experience a land diverse in environment, a rich and dynamic culture, and a people whose friendliness is legendary. Flamboyant, resilient, generous, and headstrong, the Dominican psyche embodies the country’s turbulent historical inheritance and reflects the diversity of their ethnicity. Centuries of Spanish rule, African influence, and the indigenous Taino legacy combine to form a cultural tapestry that is entirely unique.

Far from the crowds of O‘ahu and Maui, Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i offer a glimpse into untouched Hawai‘i—where wild landscapes, rich history, and authentic culture come together. Whether you’re exploring the otherworldly rock formations of Keahiakawelo (Garden of the Gods), hiking the lush Halawa Valley, or snorkeling in the crystal-clear waters of Hulopo‘e Bay, this guide ensures a seamless and unforgettable adventure.

A simple foreign phrase book? Che pizza! Speak the World: Italian teaches you the language and so much more. Margherita Berti, the talented linguist behind the wildly popular Italian Matters (5M+ followers!), shares her love for the language, culture, and history of Italy. In bocca al lupo!...

Set aside your preconceptions of postcard scenery, chocolate and cheese, faceless bankers, and spotless cities. The real Switzerland is anything but bland. This small, multilingual, and fiercely independent country at the heart of Europe is full of surprises. Culture Smart! Switzerland reveals the human dimension of this enigmatic country. It provides a historical overview, explores Swiss values and attitudes, and looks at the cultural continuity of festivals and traditions.

In the popular imagination, Spain conjures up a picture of rapacious conquistadores, fiery flamenco dancers, and brilliant artists. All true enough - but how closely does everyday life in modern Spain conform to these dramatic stereotypes? This book explores the complex human realities of contemporary Spanish life. It describes how Spain's history and geography have created both strongly felt regional differences and shared values and attitudes. It reveals what the Spaniards are like at home and in business, how they socialize, and how to build lasting relationships with them.

Culture Smart! provides essential information, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.

Australia is different - a vast island continent with distances so great that the capital of Western Australia is closer to Singapore than it is to Sydney. The landscape embraces magnificent tropical rainforests and deserts the size of several European states; temperate areas that sustain a flourishing wine industry, making Australia the world's fourth largest wine exporter; and a 16,000-mile coastline of breathtaking beaches. Plus its unique fauna is testament to the country's down-underness.

Pre-order this gorgeous destination romcom now! Can a bookshop bring two hearts together? Beth loves everything about living in Venice. The meandering canals and the cobbled streets have captured her heart, so when she loses her job and fears she’ll have to return to England, she’s...

Taking listeners beyond the stereotypical images of windmills, clogs, and tulips, this audio guide helps visitors understand the complex layers of identity in this small, densely populated country on Europe's northwestern seaboard. With roots as a maritime nation that built a network for transportation, defense, and trade, the Netherlands of today is still a prime economic hub of Europe. The Netherlands is also famous for its liberal attitudes, recently challenged by high levels of immigration, and is home to an intelligent, cosmopolitan, enterprising, tolerant, and modest people.

With The World Up Close, bicyclist Kameel Nasr has created a fascinating and personal introduction to the world's people, sharing diverse episodes from his 40,000-mile bicycle journey through 70 countries. Nasr offers his readers a vicarious view across the handlebars as he tackles the Appalachians, the Anders, the Himalayas...crosses Sinai in the summer...shares the ever-present fears of Central Americans...explores Morocco's Hashish Trail.