Culture Smart! Vietnam: A Quick Guide to Customs and Etiquette

#76
Title: Culture Smart! Vietnam: A Quick Guide to Customs and Etiquette
Author: Geoffrey Murray
Publisher: Graphic Arts Books
Year: 2006
Genre: Business, culture, travel
168 pages
There aren't a lot of books focused on customs and etiquette in the economically emergent nations of Southeast Asia. This is too bad because the information is sorely needed but the available materials tend to be somewhat cursory and either overly broad or too narrow. The present volume tends in the "overly broad" direction, spending a reasonable proportion of its text on general historical, anthropological, and tourist information rather than addressing specific points of custom and etiquette. I hasten to add that this overview is generally well-written and useful, but it is not "customs and etiquette," which is what the title promises and what I needed. Still, this is the best of the very small bunch, and has the virtue of being a small book, easily packed.
The chapters "Business Briefing" and "Communicating" contained the most germaine information for my purposes. These chapters provide a general context of Doi Moi ("rennovation") and recent historical factors that affect business dealings in Vietnam. Though the advice is generally good, one is certain that Mr. Murray would not opine that "a dress would be cooler at most times of the year" (140) if he had ever actually tried to wear a dress at 104 F and 100% humidity. The basic information on business cards, protocol for drinking a beverage, speech patterns, body language, eye contact, etc. appeared to be accurate, though everyone shook hands with me in the Western manner (though less crushing than is sometimes the case in the US) and by the end of the trip those who had spent a lot of time with me were not averse to a goodbye hug.