from NICHOLAS BREALEY INTERCULTURAL

THE ART OF CROSSING CULTURES

Craig Storti

The Art of Crossing Cultures is a compelling analysis of the personal challenges inherent in the cross-cultural experience. Craig Storti has broken new ground; while focusing on the basic psychological processes involved in encountering a foreign culture and adapting to it, he also suggests a model for meeting the new culture straight-on, managing the temptation to withdraw, and gradually adjusting expectations of behaviour to fit the new reality.

He bases his analysis of cross-cultural adaptation not only on psychological and communication theory but also on the perceptions of some of the worldıs greatest authors and their literature, writers such as Mark Twain, E M Forster, Noel Coward, Mary Renault and Rudyard Kipling and weaves their comments and insights into his discussion.

To deal with the differences one encounters in living in another culture - differences that for almost everyone cause some form of counterproductive psychological reaction - one must be ready to go through a clearly identifiable mental process, which Storti clearly defines. Learning how to anticipate differences and master alternative reactions rather than withdrawing is at the heart of the cross-cultural adaptation experience.

Most books describe and analyse adjustment; The Art of Crossing Cultures tells the reader how to do it. The insight Craig Storti offers into the actual process of cross-cultural adaptation is valuable to anyone contemplating such a change.

Craig Storti directs Craig Storti and Associates, a cross-cultural training firm. He specialises in the design and delivery of seminars in cross-cultural adjustment, repatriation and diversity, and has written for The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, as well as many other publications. He is also the author of The Art of Coming Home, now from Nicholas Brealey Intercultural, and Figuring Foreigners Out, published by Intercultural Press and available from Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

If you are interested in cross-cultural books you may like to visit the website of our sister company, The Intercultural Press: http://www.interculturalpress.com