Culture shock! Netherlands

Having just returned from the Netherlands, we found this book to be very helpful and also an icebreaker with new Dutch friends, who thought some of the observations about their national character and customs were spot-on while others were amusing. Also, citizens were surprised that I knew a fair bit of history as well as more contemporary information about national politics etc. This was a handy guide to the basics of functioning in this wonderful country. I would recommend this to travellers. Very handy.

This series of books is so fabulous if you want to get to know the country you are visiting, not only if you want to move there but also if you just love to learn more than the surface of a country on your two week vacation. Great to read before and after a visit to the Netherlands. I learnt so much in this book that would have taken me months, years to learn by actually being in the country. Excellent resource.

this book should be red by all people that plan on visiting the netherlands. as dutch person i looked in it (it was a gift) and it is very truthfull

This book is clear and concise.The format makes it very easy to read from cover to cover or to select a couple of chapters. I have lived in the Netherlands for 10yrs and enjoyed it immensely. I have also sent the book to my relatives in the UK and they found it an enlightening read. I highly recommend it to anyone planning a stay in the Netherlands.

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.