From the Book - Updated and expanded 3rd ed., 3rd American ed.
Preface to the third edition
Foreword / Walter J.P. Curley
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.