Full 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.
Contents
Brit-Think, Ameri-ThinkPreface
1. First Things First
2. Brits and Yanks Abroad-Business and Pleasure
3. Strictly Business
4. Brits and Yanks at Home
5. Choosing Partners..."What's Love Got to Do with It?"
6. The Importance of Being "Cute"
7. Sex
8. The Children...Baby-Brit, Baby-Yank
9. Aspirations...or "You Can't Hve Everything-Where Would You Put It?"
10. The Food Connection
11. The World According to Oprah
12. Regionalism and Other Local Problems
13. At One with Nature
14. What Makes This Country Great?
15. The Establishment
16. How Cool Can We Get?
17. Goods and Services
18. Pets
19. Judging a Nation by Its Television
20. Humor Travels?
21. Good Sport
22. War Games
23. Religious Persuasions
24. The Golden Years
25. That Really Counts
