French or foe?: getting the most out of visiting, living and working in France

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.