Dave Menefee Gives Thumbs Up to Reference for Emigrants

Title: What Foreigners Need To Know About America From A to Z

Subtitle: How to understand crazy American culture, people, government, business, language, and more

Author: Lance Johnson

Available on Amazon and on Amazon sites worldwide

Available as an e-book.

Author's Web site:  http://AmericaAtoZ.com   

 

 

 

Reviewed by Dave Menefee, originally for Book Pleasures.com and Amazon

 

Every person living in America should be required to study this book.

The divides separating ages, cultures, religions, and races could largely be eliminated and a Utopian civilization could be finally achieved if we simply understood each other, but we’re not all working off the same page. Lance Johnson has produced the ultimate guide for bringing about a universal understanding between the millions of people living, working, and loving inside the United States.

Nothing could be worse than nudging a naïve neophyte into the magnificent melting pot known as America. This book could be their salvation, but beware of the misleading title. You might think that What Foreigners Need to Know About America from A to Z contains nothing but factoids for foreigners, but you need look no further than yourself and those within your intimate circle of friends to realize that our entire population today woefully lacks a perception of etiquette, knowledge of this country’s heritage, awareness of culture, know-how about business, and comprehension of language. We need alertness to TLC: Tradition, Legacy, and Custom. This monumental book holds the missing key to collective comprehension.

The 566-page book weighs as much as a big city telephone book, and you cannot absorb the whole in one reading (I tried), but thankfully, Johnson has divided the digest into four sections:

America’s Heritage: the dreams that immigrants brought from the four winds, and the government, geography, history, law, religions, and measurements that resulted.

America’s Culture: our customs and etiquette, education, relationships, literature, films, art, sports, food and dining, dress and appearance, media, holidays and traditions, and attitudes.

America’s Business: models, unions, banking, customs and conduct, owning a business, how to get a job, and paying taxes.

America’s Language: how to talk and write correcting, slang, and tonality.

Back matter contains appendices for:

•  Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
• Colleges with Largest Percentage of International Students
• Sample Income Tax Form 1040
• Pulitzer Prize-winning books
• Academy Awards for Best Picture
• The Famous 1897 New York Sun article “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Clause”
• A list of the current 50 United States
• A comprehensive 100-question Quiz on US Government

 You might wonder what the above topics have to do with understanding Americans, but these subjects fuse together the follies, foibles, and fundamentals that formed this country. The author profusely illustrates his text with more than 650 photos, maps, charts, and illustrations. His writing style embraces excellent grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and spelling. Each of the four main sections is also available as a separate paperback edition. Those Volumes 1-4 allow a reader to hone in on areas they may feel that they most need to study, but the huge multi-volume edition can be found in both paperback and Kindle book editions. Study remains the keyword here, because the author outlays everything everyone needs to learn about living, working, socializing, and doing business in America. A comprehensive Index makes referring back to some detail a snap. Throughout the book, the author interjects "hints" that offer his personal pointers about how to further understand a given topic, not unlike having your best friend nudge you and whisper a tip that completely clarifies your understanding.

The book should be the last course all high school students must pass before graduating, compulsory for earning a college diploma, mandatory for every management trainee, and a required refresher for all senior citizens before beginning to collect Social Security. Our nation would be vastly improved if all adults were following the same guiding principles.

What Foreigners Need to Know About America from A to Z pulls together between two covers a richly researched, all-inclusive panorama of America’s heritage, culture, business, and language. If this country ever ceases to exist, I hope this book survives as a testament to the truth that there was once a land where life’s leading lights shown at their brightest on a candelabra forged from the iron of the ages. Until that dark day, Lance Johnson has provided us with a workbook for winning that has been struck from those same elements and should be on your gift list for friends setting up in America for the first time, any student emerging from the classroom into the jungle of life, and all the rest of us who have forgotten the beauty of the forest because of the tangle of trees.

Lance Johnson has an Ivy League graduate business degree and has studied at Oxford University in England. He has traveled through 81 countries, served as manager of an international consulting firm, and appeared in many movies, stage plays, and commercials.

~Reviewer David W. Menefee is the author of

Can't Help Falling in Love

Secret Soldier Master of Disguise
Sweet Memories

Sarah Bernhardt, Her Films, Her Recordings (Foreword by Kevin Brownlow)Wally: The True Wallace Reid Story (Foreword by Robert Osborne)

The Rise and Fall of Lou-Tellegen

Richard Barthelmess: A Life in Pictures

The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era

The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era

Brothers of the Storm

"Otay!" The Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas Story (with William Thomas, Jr.)

Charlie O’Doone’s Second Chance

Margot Cranston The Voice in the Shadows

Margot Cranston The Secret of St. Laurent Lighthouse

Margot Cranston The Mystery at Loon Lake

Margot Cranston The Quest for the Jade DragonsFalling Stars 10 Who Tried to be a Movie Star

George O'Brien: A Man's Man in Hollywood
A Craving for Travel II  (with Jim Strong)

How to Write, Format, and Market a Kindlebook on a Shoestring Budget

Menefee's newly released book, Master of Disguise, is about secret soldier Isador Messing who lives up to the title of the book. Terror strikes when Hitler's SS troops arrest Messing's fiancé on the day they plan to escape Nazi occupied Berlin. Alone and stoic in the face of utter malevolence, he launches a bold, daring, and desperate plan to liberate her. Can the remarkable Mr. Messing's one-man army triumph against all odds and win in a war-torn world gone mad?This book is also available on Kindle.

 

Editor's Note: The separate sections of What Foreigners Need to Know are  also available for those who want to focus on one aspect of this reference, like accent reduction and grammar or culture.  

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Award-Winning Novelist Reviews Book Aimed at Emigrants and Foreigners

What Foreigners Need To Know About America From A To Z
Subtitle: How to Understand Crazy American Culture, People, Government, Business, Language and More
By Lance Johnson
Author's Web Site
Amazon  Paperback: http://Amzn.to/ForeignersAmericaUS

 

 

Reviewed by Leora Skolkin Smith originally for Amazon

As the daughter of a foreign-born mother who had to struggle to assimilate into American culture, reading Lance Johnson's book was an occasion for me to rejoice. Literate but accessible and undidactic, it defines American icons and expressions while providing brass tacks definitions and down-to-earth suggestions.

It's sometimes hard for Americans to realize that our culture needs to be demystified and made available to others without stress and/or giving them a feeling of remaining a perpetual outsider. Lance Johnson invites everyone to enjoy and penetrate some of the unique American mysteries we take for granted. A spectacular, important book and a toolbox full of relevant resources for all.

 

About the Reviewer:

Leora Skolkin-Smith’s first published novel, EDGES was edited and published by the late Grace Paley for Ms. Paley's own imprint at Glad Day books. EDGES was nominated for the 2006 PEN/Faulkner Award by Grace Paley. Recently, her novels were selected by Princeton University as part of a series on women writers whose background is from the Middle East and whose work is personal, reflecting the current diaspora. The Princeton Series in funded by The National Endowment of the Humanities and called: "The Fertile Crescent Moon Series."

THE FRAGILE MISTRESS, a feature film based on EDGES, is currently in pre-production, scheduled to begin shooting on location in Jerusalem, Jordan, and New York, produced by Triboro Pictures, directed by Michael Gunther. http://www.thefragilemistress.com  

Articles by Leora Skolkin-Smith have appeared in The Washington Post, Psychology Today, The National Book Critic’s Circle, “Critical Mass”, “Readysteadybook.com”, the Quarterly Review and others. Learn more about her at http://leoraskolkinsmith.com

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

Major Reference Important for ESL Students and US Emmigrants

What America Needs To Know About America From A To Z

Subtitle: How To Understand Crazy American Culture, People, Government, Business, Language and More

By Lance Johnson

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/What-Foreigners-Need-About-America/dp/1468172360/

Author's Web site: http://howtodoitfrugally.com/A_to_Z.htm

Author's E-mail: info@AmericaAtoZ.com

ISBN: 978-1468172362

 

Endorsed by U.S. and foreign ambassadors and editors, this new book paints a revealing picture of America and its people for those foreigners who will benefit from a better understanding of America. It will also inform Americans who want to learn more about the U.S. and how it compares to other countries around the world.

World traveler and teacher Lance Johnson studies cultural differences and the difficulties foreigners (even Americans!) have understanding crazy America, as some call it. Foreigners might come to the U.S. to work for American employers, to open branch offices or factories for their homeland employers, to start their own businesses (100's of thousands do each year), go to school (1 million a year do), or just move here (500 thousand do yearly). Others might work for American organizations in their homelands or have American teachers there. An understanding of American culture and language without question will contribute to their success.

For this book “foreigners” are defined as anyone who is not sufficiently familiar with American culture to achieve success. This includes the multitudes of foreign-born, naturalized citizens who have lived in the U.S. for years and still struggle with the ways and the language. A foreigner could also be a first-generation American whose immigrant parents did not fully expose their children to American culture and they now pay the price in mainstream U.S. There are lots of other examples, too.  Throw in foreign students, those who would like to become foreign students, those who would like to open a business in the US or do business with Americans--either in the US or oversease, and you have a very wide audience indeed. The language chapter has special value for ESL (English as Second Language) students everywhere.

Each of the 26 chapters’ brush strokes contributes to the final painting of what America is all about. For ease of understanding, the chapters are grouped into four sections. (The sections are available as individual books as well.)

•Section I – America's Heritage - The historical background of why America and its people became who and what they are today.

•Section II – America's Culture - Everyday life in America, ranging from customs and etiquette, to what’s on the minds of Americans, to education and personal relationships.

•Section III – America's Business - The complex business environment, operations, and people-related customs. How to start a business of your own in the U.S. How to increase the chances of getting hired by an American firm in the U.S. or abroad.

•Section IV – America's Language - The number one problem area foreigners say they have with American culture. Easy, practical ways to improve English grammar, speech, writing, communication skills, and accent reduction. Common English grammar and speech errors made by foreigners are identified and simple tips are provided for overcoming them.

This book is also in paperback in Europe and Asia at:  

 

Austria - 

  

 http://www.amazon.de/What-Foreigners-Need-About-America/dp/1468172360/

 

Canada  -

http://www.amazon.ca/What-Foreigners-Need-About- 

America/dp/1468172360/

 

France -

http://www.amazon.fr/What-Foreigners-Need-About-

America/dp/1468172360/

 

Germany -

http://www.amazon.de/What-Foreigners-Need-About-

America/dp/1468172360/

 

Italy -

http://www.amazon.it/What-Foreigners-Need-About-

America/dp/1468172360/

 

Japan -

http://www.amazon.co.jp/What-Foreigners-Need-About-

America/dp/1468172360/

Spain - 

 

http://www.amazon.es/What-Foreigners-Need-About- 

America/dp/1468172360/

 

United Kingdom -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Foreigners-Need-About-

America/dp/1468172360/

United States -

http://amzn.to/ForeignersAmericaUS

It is also available in Chine from Oriental Press in simplified Chinese.

For those with special needs or interests,
the sections of this book
are also available separately:

Book 1 - America's Heritage
Find it on Amazon at http://bit.ly/AmericasHeritageBook1
Book 2 - America's Culture
Find it on Amazon at
http://bit.ly/AmericasCultureBook2
Book 3 - America's Business
Find it on Amazon at
http://bit.ly/AmericasBusinessBook3
Book 4 - America's Language
Find it on Amazon at
http://bit.ly/AmericasLanguageBook4
The above volumes are also available on Amazon in Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

     

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :

How To Sue A Telemarketer

How To Sue A Telemarketer
Author's website link – http://www.howtosueatelemarketer.com/
Genre or category – Humor/Legal
ISBN-10: 061533817
ISBN-13: 978-0615338170


About How To Sue A Telemarketer


Telemarketers have been a pain in the general public’s behind for decades. Thanks to their interrupting us day and night, the telephone has been transformed from a convenience, into a source of annoyance and frustration.

How To Sue A Telemarketer: A Manual For Restoring Peace On Earth One Phone Call At A Time is a tongue-in-cheek manual that shows the average citizen how they can fight back against a telemarketer by taking them to small-claims court. Half humorous and half how-to, the book combines comedy with savvy information about the legal system and step-by-step instructions on how consumers can take telemarketers to task.

About Steve Ostrow


A practicing lawyer for 30 years in Cardiff by the Sea, California, Steve also had the unique opportunity to play the celebrity double for Seinfeld’s Cosmo Kramer, originally played by actor Michael Richards, in venues around the country for 10 years. With the additional skills of being a small claim judge and licensed real estate broker, recently Steve turned his attention to writing a tongue in cheek manual on How To Sue A Telemarketer- A Guide to Creating Peace On Earth One Telephone Call At A Time.
Combining his wise guy roots in New York with a laid back California lifestyle, an unusual combination of wit and insight into the legal system is explored in his latest exploit. With insights from a long time yoga practice, the lawyer Steve tries to see a bigger emotional picture of the client’s needs

Topics In How To Sue A Telemarketer by Stephen Ostrow-
• What to do when a telemarketer first calls
• Gathering information to file a civil complaint
• Filing and serving of the complaint
• What to do in court all the way through collection on the judgment
• Everything you need to know about suing telemarketers
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below: