The Revolution Betrayed or Art of Coming Home

The Revolution Betrayed

Author: Leon Trotsky

Written in 1936 and published the following year, this brilliant and profound evaluation of Stalinism from the Marxist standpoint prophesied the collapse of the Soviet Union. Trotsky employs facts, figures, and statistics to show how Stalinist policies rejected the enormous productive potential of the nationalized planned economy engendered by the October Revolution.

New interesting textbook: Cuidado Dirigido:O que É e Como Ele Trabalha

Art of Coming Home

Author: Craig Storti

Expecting that home will be the way it was when you left? Are you instead shocked to discover that both you and home have changed? The Art of Coming Home offers the solid advice you need to reduce the stress of making the transition home.

Leave-taking, the honeymoon stage, reverse culture shock, and eventual readjustment -- The Art of Coming Home lays out the four stages of the reentry process and details practical strategies for dealing with the challenges you will face each step of the way. Veteran trainer, consultant, and world adventurer Craig Storti sketches the workplace challenges faced by returning business executives as well as the reentry issues of spouses, younger children, and teenagers. He also addresses in detail the special issues faced by exchange students, international volunteers, military personnel and their families, and missionaries and their children.

Whether you are a recent returnee or are just now thinking of moving abroad, The Art of Coming Home sets itself apart as it brings the process of returning home right to the heart of the overseas experience.

Soundview Executive Book Summaries

The Challenge Of Living Abroad
Many executives have experienced the combination of anticipation and anxiety as they prepare for a posting abroad. What many executives fail to anticipate is the culture shock they experience on returning home. Cross-cultural specialist Craig Storti addresses these experiences in his clearly written book called The Art of Crossing Cultures.

'It's Not the Heat...'
The expatriate transition will differ greatly, of course, depending on where you are coming from and where you are going. A new and (to the newcomer) uncomfortable climate, doing without ("the list of things 'they don't have here' sometimes seems to have been designed with you personally in mind," Storti notes); the loss of routines; and unfamiliar faces are some of the elements of what Storti labels "country shock."

Country shock, however, is just a sideshow to the main event: culture shock. The weather is one thing. Dealing with "different, deeply held beliefs and instincts about what is natural, normal, right and good" is another.

'The Fried Ants Are Delicious'
The first step in dealing with culture shock, according to Storti, is to abandon expectations of cultural sameness. People in foreign countries are going to act differently. Expatriates must then take steps to learn about the culture around them. They will then come to understand and even expect the behaviors and attitudes of the people in their new country.

"The message of this book," Storti notes, "is not that you must uncritically embrace all local behavior no matter how strange or offensive, but only that you should not reject behaviors before you have understood them."

The result might surprise you. As one foreign aid worker in East Africa wrote, "All in all, [this] is a really nice place to live and work. The people are friendly, the beaches are great, and the fried ants are delicious."

Why Soundview Likes This Book
The Art of Crossing Cultures is typical of the titles published by Intercultural Press, a small Maine publisher that specializes in authoritative, how-to guides on cross-cultural relations. Any person facing the prospect of going abroad would do well to start with this title. Then, request the Intercultural Press catalogue for more detailed guides on specific countries. Copyright (c) 2002 Soundview Executive Book Summaries

Table of Contents:

	Acknowledgments	xi
	Introduction	xiii
1	Coming Home	1
	The Issues	3
	What the Returnee Can Do	37
2	The Stages of Reentry	45
	Leave-Taking and Departure	47
	The Honeymoon	49
	Reverse Culture Shock	51
	Readjustment	59
3	The Return of the Employee	67
	Issues for the Employee	68
	Issues for the Organization	79
	What the Organization Can Do	82
	What the Employee Can Do	95
	The Stages of Workplace Reentry	98
4	The Return of Spouses and Children	103
	Issues for the Spouse	104
	What Spouses Can Do	111
	Issues for Younger Children	113
	What Parents Can Do for Younger Children	114
	Issues for Teenagers	116
	What Parents Can Do for Teenagers	128
	What Teens Can Do	132
5	Special Populations	137
I.	Exchange Students	138
	The Issues	139
	What Exchange Students and Their Families Can Do	148
II.	International Voluntary Organizations	150
	The Issues	151
	What Returning Volunteers Can Do	158
III.	Military Personnel and Their Families	160
	The Issues	161
	What Military Returnees and Their Families Can Do	169
IV.	Missionaries and Missionary Children	170
	Issues for Missionaries	171
	Issues for Missionary Children	175
	What Missionaries and Their Children Can Do	180
	Epilogue	185
	Useful Resources	189
	Bibliography	193
	Index	199