Designed primarily for people who will be living or working in France for extended periods, offers lessons on French manners, attitudes, and culture.

Includes index. French collection.

Preface to the third edition -- Foreword / Walter J.P. Curley -- Introduction -- Part 1 : Starting off on the right foot. Six codes : rudeness is in the eye of the beholder -- French space : private, public and working -- French time : "why does everything take so long?" -- Part 2. The French way in public. Street strangers and neighborhood tradespeople : the good news and the bad news -- Misery in the big stores : your weapons and how to handle them -- Blame paranoia : truth and consequences -- You and the bureaucracy : the Systeme D -- Part 3 : French context : the formation of Frenchness. History matters : what was, is -- The family : rules, closeness and the Esprit Critique -- School days : the survival of the smartest -- The Grandes Ecoles : the selection of the elite -- The music of their tongue : a passion or a religion? -- Plaisir : flirting, food, language and love -- Two dinner parties : food, style, and protocol : back to Versailles -- Part 4 : Office life. The logic of French management : why the thunderbolts are coming -- Tricky wickets : foreigners' complaints and French executives' suggestions -- Executive roundup : reflections from six multicultural U.S. veterans -- Part 5 : The other side of the mirror. How the French see the U.S. -- Coda : marvels for 16 headaches -- Coda 2 : vignettes of recent France.