Smart: 482 books

With the FIFA World Cup in its pocket Germany is feeling its social, political, and economic power once again. After organizing a successful World Cup in 2006 and winning it against Argentina in Brazil in 2014, Germany sees a note of confidence, even triumphalism, permeating the country. As a European...

Austria has produced some of the world's finest composers, dazzled us with an imperial Baroque architecture, and led the way with groundbreaking psychoanalysis. It has taught us to waltz, defined what a real coffee house is, and given us one of Europe's most popular winter playgrounds. All this from...

France has experienced considerable upheaval in recent years. The Eurozone crisis, a new socialist president, rioting by an alienated underclass, a ban on the burqa (full veil) in public places, and an attempt to democratize the elite system of education all point to significant changes in French...

Visitors marvel at Hong Kong's breathtaking location, its amazing architecture, its exciting shopping, and its fine dining. And yet it is a land of opposites—of order juxtaposed with chaos, of ancient etiquette and seemingly abrupt manners, a place where rich and poor live in close proximity. Culturally,...

Laid back, sun-drenched tropical paradise, or hotbed of drug-related crime and violence? Neither stereotype is true. Jamaica suffers from a PR problem, created largely by tabloid headlines written thousands of miles away. The reality is more complex and more fascinating. Despite its small size, Jamaica...

Culture Smart! China puts the latest dramatic changes into a historical context, explains deep-seated cultural attitudes, and guides the visitor through a maze of unfamiliar social situations. It will enable you to discover for yourself the warmth, intelligence, humor, and humanity of this extraordinary...

Slovenia seems closer to Austria or Italy than to its Balkan neighbors. The richest of the Slavic nation-states, it has an entirely Western tradition, having belonged in the past to the Roman Empire, the Frankish kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Habsburg monarchy, and the...

A land of mountains, hills, and fertile plains, Romania is a tourist destination waiting to be discovered. It is a rich and complex country: a place whose cities are home to beautiful parks and vibrant cultural scenes; whose people welcome guests warmly into their homes, sharing the best of whatever...

When you enter Greece's mountainous peninsula, with its long coastline and unique archipelago, you are returning to the cradle of Western civilization. And while the ancient Greeks fashioned our political, ethical, aesthetic, and scientific values, their descendants down the ages have continued to...

Canada is the second-largest country in the world, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and spanning six time zones. From coast to coast lie vast forests, breathtaking mountains, flat, open plains, and thousands of lakes and rivers. It is also the world's second-most sparsely populated...

Known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean, this resource-rich, lovely island just off the southern tip of India is full of contrast and diversity. Despite the lingering tension between the different religious and ethnic groups in the wake of a bloody civil war, and the glaring inequality between the...

Chile is a land of contrast and surprise, flanked by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Andes to the east, the forbidding salt basins of the Atacama Desert to the north—with a verdant Central Valley and Cape Horn at its southern extremity. The Chilean people, too, are surprising: on one hand reserved,...

Italy delights and stimulates with its magnificent cities and monuments, its stunningly beautiful landscapes, the glory of its art and architecture, the richness and variety of its food, the elegance of its design and fashion, and the vitality and charm of its people. Italian style and culture have...

For many people Brazil conjures up images of football, Carnaval and fine coffee, but it is much more than beaches and bossa nova. If you could choose only one word to describe Brazil, it would be diversity. The variety of racial types, lifestyles, wealth, landscape and climate is enormous. Jeitinho...