Foreigner Books

Since this is the fourth volume in a nine-volume (soon to be twelve-volume . . .) epic, I won't attempt to summarize even the main plot points so far. Suffice to say that Bren Cameron, padhi to the atevi aiji, comes back from a brief vacation back home on the human-occupied island of Mospheira to discover he needn't even unpack his bags: His boss is sending him straight up to the derelict orbiting space station on the next morning's shuttle flight (only its fourth) to negotiate with the crew of the Phoenix, the starship which has reappeared after an absence of two centuries with warnings of another alien species out for blood. The Phoenix has the technology -- more even than the castaway Mospheirans ever had -- but the atevi, who are natural geniuses at anything involoving numbers, have the resources, technical ability, and manpower to repair the station, and to refuel and re-outfit the Phoenix. And the aiji will do all that at no charge -- but he's keeping the station for the atevi as their own access point into space. Bren now works full-time for the aiji, trying to balance atevi needs against those of the two human factions. But there are factions within the ship's crew, too, and things get very dicey for awhile. The padhi's security team is marvelously competent at keeping him alive and competitors at bay, but even they can't control the air supply in space. And just when things are coming to a lethel head, who should arrive on the next shuttle flight but Ilisidi, the aiji's grandmother, an impressive and often rather daunting character, and a major political force in her own right. If you've gotten this far in the story, you should have a pretty good understanding of what makes the atevi tick -- as good as any human is going to get, anyway -- and you've already got your favorite characters (mine is Jago). Keep the next couple of volumes ready to hand and just keep going!

Precursor continues to expand the alienation of the paidhi-Bren Cameron- from the humans isolated on the island of Mospheira with its corrupt political system.
He is clearly seen as an advocate for the Atevi - under the guidance of Tabini-aijii as the sole instrumentality for control
of the space station and the starships which will provide the only defence against the :reported: aliens which destroyed the -as yet- undefined space station the Pilots Guild bult around another star.
Brens relationships with dowager Ilisidi continue to fascinate me
The discovery in Precursor that (...) was a complete surprise as there had been NO indication (...).
C.J.Cherryh continues to present some of the best crafted aliens in SF. The Chanur Saga,Downbelow Station,Cyteen,Finity's End,
The Foreigner series;in all of these it is the Human who is the alien and I just love Mekkt-Hakkikt Pyanfur Chanur.

Another book in one of C.J.Cherryh's great SF series. Start at the beginning and enjoy the adventures of one lone human acting as a liason between humans and a very alien-thinking race. Great study in diverse cultures and philosophies attempting to co-exist with each other.

No one succeeds in presenting the feel of an alien culture as well as C. J. Cherryh. Her aliens are alien, but they are also people. The first book by this author that I ever read was Hunter of Worlds, and that book blew me away at the time. She defined their universe so well, and I always wanted more of that universe. This series of books harkens back to the same feeling that I got from that book.

In these days of endless fantasy epics that go on book after book, it is a pleasure to know that there is some good science fiction still being written. Each book in the series could stand on its own, but it is better to read them in sequence. I bought all three of the first series, and could not put them down. I thought the end of Inheritor was a little weak, as if she could not think how to end it, but this straightens out that problem by continuing the story. And the continuation makes sense.

My only disapointment is that the next book is not yet out. I am looking forward to it.

The way in which Precursor was written, almost made me feel that the original trilogy was just a long set-up for what would begin to take place with this book. Bren Cameron once again is sent into unfamiliar territory to defuse a situation that comes about once again from a clash of culture. And while others talk about his struggle with his humanity, I think C.J. Cherryh, continues to bring to mind that Bren is nothing but human, despite his shift to being as close to Atevi as a human could be.

In this book, Bren goes up to the station above the planet to negotiate the trade deal with the ship captains for repairing both the station, and the Phoenix, while also attempting to prepare for an alien invasion from somewhere else that was chasing the Phoenix. Through this story, you learn the intricate relationships among the human's on the ship within their 'culture' and how it's contrary to both the Mospherians and the Atevi. All while continuing to build on what Bren and the Atevi have been learning about each other from the original trilogy.

Within the story there is conflict, conspiracy, and interspicing of danger throughout. This book was without a doubt, in my opinion, the crown jewel of the series. And the ending definitely left me wanting more.

I won't repeat other reviewers.

Overall, it's a good textbook. Apart from missing audio, I am not too happy about many Japanese textbooks about being too slow on introducing Kanji. Why not write in Kanji all the words that are NORMALLY written in Kanji and provide Hiragana like for the Kanji that are used? A full-fledged Japanese text has much more Kanji that in textbooks, the authors seem to "spare" learners. The kanji should be used both in the main text and the vocabulary list, in my opinion.

Another good feature (I think most people missed that in the review), the text describes the pitch tone very well and uses accents to show the standard pitch accent throughout the book. Most textbooks ignore the Japanese pitch accent, as if it's unimportant. It would be, of course, ideal to hear these accents in action.

Very different from other textbooks I've used. It's brilliant in how it's complete and extensive. It has bad reviews because it's so hard to get through. The first lesson has a full page of vocabulary to it, and you have to memorize every vocabulary word before you have finished a lesson. The book is very cramped as well. Ever seen Japanese books or textbooks? It's like those. The only complaint which everybody has is "where are the tapes?" (Which are awesome and very helpful). If you look hard enough, you can actually find these online, but it would be illegal to say where.

All that being said, if you know zero about Japanese, you'll probably be very confused by everything and it will be twice as hard. If you know hiragana and katakana, with a simple understanding of sentence structure (Subject Object Verb), then this book is for you. I personally began after a highschool class of Japanese.

I'm serious. I'm a student of Japanese at University, for 2 years I used the Genki system and then when I came to Japan to study they make us use Japanese for Everyone. This book is awful in comparison. The grammer is scattered all over the place, they've crammed so much onto the pages that they are hard to navigate when you want to go back and review something, the workbook & kanji workbook are only loosely related: some kanji you learn in the workbook is repeatedly put into hiragana in the textbook for chapters afterwards, and other kanji you haven't learned yet is put in kanji form much earlier than the chapter you learn it. They also jump right into grammer with no explanation for the beginner as to the hiragana & katakana writing systems.

This book is supposed to be comprehensive, everything you need to speak and write functional japanese. But not everything you need is in there, nor is it presented in a user friendly fashion. So I only recommend this book for someone who has a good japanese background and doesn't mind hunting around for things. Otherwise go with Genki. You can even buy the CD's for it.

I bought "Japanese for Everyone," along with several other learning Japanese titles a few years ago. I found that I wound up extensively using all the other books over the years, with the sole exception of this one (which I found intimidating as a beginner).

However, recently, I began using this book and now that I have some Japanese under my belt, I have found it quite useful. In fact, I would say this is the best title for intermediate learners that I've seen thus far. It's very complete and comprehensive.

I have a few small gripes, though. The book refers to tapes a number of times, and it's frustrating to use this book if you don't have the tapes (which apparently are only available in Japan).

Another gripe is that the text is too small. It'd be nice if it were more readable.

Lastly, I found the book's cultural references to America to be quite bizarre and inaccurate. In one section, we are informed that Americans get one month of vacation time annually. Huh? The vast majority of Americans are lucky to get 2 weeks, if that, these days. (In fact, these days, Americans work more hours yearly than the Japanese do, as Juliet B. Schor noted in her excellent book, "The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure.")

I read great reviews about this book and thought it would be wonderful, but I was disappointed. It does not teach the language in a way that I find to work well for me. For some people maybe it's great, but not me. I don't feel it explains the structure of the language well enough, or starts simply enough. I just don't like the approach it takes, and there definitely isn't enough explanation of how and why sentences and words are structured the way they are. I appreciate that it focuses mostly on the kana (instead of using only romaji) but that isn't enough to make the book useful to me. Some people may be able to learn episodically from examples that come from the story the book tells, but I want to learn from the ground up, starting with structure and theory so that the applications then make sense. The way this book is put together does not suit my learning style, so I have found that it added more frustration to the already challenging task of learning a new language. I do not recommend it to anyone who has a systematic learning style like me.

Anyone who's familiar with Cherryh already knows the quality of her work. If you're not, I recommend ANYTHING by her. The first three books set in the Foreigner universe were brilliant explorations of cultures clashing on a grand scale. The second trilogy was all that and even more action. This third series raises the ante even higher. If you're a fan of Sci-Fi, first contact, or intrigue, you can't go wrong with this whole series.

Great addition to the Foreigner Universe. I enjoy Cherryh's introspective style. If one hasn't read the previous books in the series, do so. This is not a stand-alone book.

Getting down near the end of this epic, now -- at least, the end of the nine volumes so far published. Recently returned from two years in deep space, Bren Cameron, the paidhi-aiji (and now Lord of the Heavens, whether he likes it or not), has found the atevi world in an uproar, a usurper having attempted to oust Tabini, the aiji of most of the world. His boss has gone into hiding to raise a counter-revolution. At the end of the previous book, Bren and the aiji's dowager grandmother (an intimidating old lady with razor-sharp political skills and a devoted following), as well as the aiji's very young heir, have survived an attempt to eliminate them by dissident members of the Assassins Guild and have finally met up with Tabini. This eighth volume is taken up with the journey, partly by commandeered bus, partly by rail, to the capital at Shejidan, where the aiji intends to take back his position. They gather forces as well as momentum -- the ultimate road trip, in a way -- and by the time they hit the palace gates (or, rather, underground train station), the usurper has fled the city. There's quite a bit of action this time out, but also considerable in-depth discussion of the concept of man'chi, which isn't "loyalty," exactly, but a hardwired atevi sense of belonging to the herd, being subject to its instinctive hierarchy. As long as he's been immersed in atevi society, Bren still doesn't quite understand his hosts' psychology, not instinctively. An absorbing and illuminating episode in the ongoing saga. (A small complaint, however: Michael Whelen has provided the cover paintings for the first seven books, and he's generally done a good job. But this time, for some reason, the painting is by Donato Giancola, and it's really pretty poor.)

This book had more action in comparison to Destroyer and also covered quite a lot of material leading up to Bren's presentation with Cajieri's assistance at the Bu'javid, including assassination attempts, etc.

Tabini's felicitous arsenal of 9 wine bottles-cum-petrol bombs didn't seem like much of a force to be reckoned with, aside from their symbolic and provocative value. Then again, Atevi wine bottles would be larger than Human wine bottles :-)

There were a few technological and cultural development oddities, but it would be getting too picky to be reasonable, I think. More reasonable would have been for Destroyer and Pretender to have been consolidated into one 400 page publication, with Deliverer as the second and another for the third, which would have simply ended some place else further on.

Readers of Pretender might find 'The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence' interesting.

Bren finds himself in the midst of a civil war. Under threat in the mansion of aging Lord Tatseigi, Bren and his security are forced to flee across country to the capital where Aiji Tabini (the deposed ruler) will attempt to regain his power. Will their attempt succeed or will Bren and his friends become the latest victims of evil Lord Murini and the assasin's guild?

I enjoyed this installment in Cherryh's renowned Foreigner series. Bren was endearing as usual, and I enjoyed the heir apparent Cajeiri. I did feel that there wasn't really enough going on in this book to justify a 5 star rating... They pretty much spent most of their time travelling. As usual, Cherryh pulls even this off with flair. I have nothing really to criticize. It was good... Just not totally awesome.

I also think this cover makes Bren look terrible and Jago look like she has no chin.

Overall, a solid, but not spectacular read.

I have to agree with the reviewers who said this book was disappointing. After being riveted by the previous eight books I feel quite let down by this one. It just leaves the whole series hanging. This book could have easily compressed into Pretender (the previous book). I sincerely hope Ms. Cherryh will release another book (but please, not three!) that will bring the Foreigner series to the grand and satisfying conclusion it deserves.

The Foreigner series is one of my favorite series. Cherryh is one of the best at making you believe that you are experiencing an alien culture where it is the small missed details and incorrect fundamental assumptions of characters (and readers) that really draw you in. This series is not the style that I usually prefer, which is military sci-fi but Cherryh is just a fantastic author.

A caution for those new to this series, this is one series that really builds on itself so I strongly recommend starting with the first novel or you WILL miss subtles in the text because they are NOT explained or even mentioned in later books.

After nine volumes, the "Foreigner" saga comes to an exciting end -- at least until the next three volumes are published. This is also the first one in which Bren Cameron, the paidhi-aiji, is not the only POV character. Cajeiri, the eight-year-old heir-apparent, is a precocious atevi kid with a lot more life-experience behind him than most adults: Two years on a starship with Bren and his great-grandmother (the formidable Ilisidi), direct contact with a third alien species, the unfortunate experience of having shot an attacker, and much more first-hand knowledge of human kids than any of his relatives considers wise. But now, having returned to the world and back in the care of his very busy parents (who have just survived an attempted coup), the kid is bored -- not to mention annoyed at the lack of technological amenities he'd gotten used to on the ship. But all that changes suddenly when he's kidnapped right out of the family's quarters by a cabal of displeased Easterners for mostly local political reasons. Bren and Ilisidi are dispatched to recover the heir before things go too far, and the result is a thundering chase story with rival bad guys, gunfire, poison, and a very inventive prisoner with far greater powers of observation and ingenuity than his somewhat bumbling kidnappers could expect. The politics are complex, but any reader of the series expects that, and the local situation is laid out quite satisfactorily. Maybe this one will satisfy those readers who think this epic is too "talky."

Better and better and even more so, Cherryh just keeps on delivering the goods with her Foreigner saga. The ninth book - Deliverer, the adventures of a human on an alien world mingling with alien friends and alien enemies - furthers the story of Bren, a diplomat-linguist of the highest order. In fact, he has been endowed with the title "Lord of the Heavens", although in this story, he is entirely planet-bound.

The Foreigner series examines the impact of human space technology on a planet which had an eighteenth-century society, and very alien responses to social groups. There are also the insights into the human responses to this alien society, and not just any adventurer, but a human trained and educated to be the interpreter of humans to aliens and vice versa.

Think of it as Star Wars meets Jane Austin. The technology of space-faring humans threatens the stability of a highly structured, formal alien society, while humans simultaneously fail to comprehend the subtleties of that society, and its exceedingly complex tangle of interwoven loyalties. All this gives the writer marvelous opportunities for creating conflict, and raising the stakes.

Like the rest of the series, Deliverer has a complete plot-line which can stand on its own, but reading from the beginning of the saga will enhance the enjoyment.

I've read every book in the entire series, and with Deliverer, I have to admit defeat.

Out of 9 books, only Invader, Precursor, and Explorer actually had something resembling a plot. Destroyer, Pretender, and especially Deliverer highlight the flaws that I've ignored: each book is either a filler or a repeat of the same plot (species blunderings leading to hostile actions and LOTS of traveling from one place to another).

And since Cherryh has run out of things for Cameron to do, he has become irrelevant to the books. I mean, what is he doing there!? That's the question that kept popping up when I read the last 3 books. But I figured it out with Deliverer. Cameron has become The Babysitter, with the "baby" as the new lead character.

After 3 straight fillers(!?) and change in character focus, I can not think of a better time to leave this series. (Although looking back, I really should have walked away after Explorer. Ahh, hindsight...)

Oh, I gave this book 1 star because there is no zero star.

While one does learn something about life in Egypt and its culture, the writing style is grating. Here's an example after the author is visited by a male doctor: "While I was touched by their concern over my health, I was also spitting mad. I felt violated. Here it's assumed you're doing something wrong until proven otherwise! On top of that, phone cards haven't been available for nearly a month. Mo's mobile calling card had no minutes left on it. Neither did mine. While he could receive calls, he couldn't make any. He was leading a tour and had no way of reaching me. Being an Egyptian man, he was close to hysteria."(p.96)
According to Eck, Egyptian men are very emotional and cry easily. She on the other hand often feels violated and ready to slug somebody. (pages 95 & 102)

I read this once before traveling to Egypt, and once again after I got home. It was better than any of the "travel books" I had purchased. I recommened it to everyone I traveled with, because it was timely and pertinent for today's travler to Egypt or anywhere else! Ms Eck captures what it really means to open one's self to the flavors and traditions of another country, with humor and tolerance. She definetly helped me get the most from my journey to Egypt.

Written with humor, honesty and genuine caring, I am Happier to Know You takes the reader into a rich and varied culture with social and political perspectives so necessary to our understanding of today's world. This story of a lone, American woman as she finds personal strength experiencing a totally new life is insightful and compassionate. I felt as if I were in Egypt. Her sense of humor took her through many trying circumstances, but brought with it acceptance and understanding of a country and a people she truly loves. I am Happier to Know You provides both learning and understanding of Middle Eastern customs through non-judgmental eyes and an inspiring, courageous story of personal growth.

I Am Happier to Know You An easy read which highlights the complexities of living with people from a different cultural background. Extremely helpful as I am planning to move to Eygpt next year. A must read for people planning to stay long term.

loved it, loved it, loved it...my kind of book....easy to read, extremely interesting & informative...if you have a desire to learn more about the muslim culture & to have a greater understanding of the people of egypt this is the book you must read. the author with her wit & charm has done a wonderful job at making you feel you are there with her sharing her experiences. will definately order more copies to give to my friends (there not getting my copy)who i know will think twice before critising the muslim culture & hopefully have a harder look at our own culture.

This book requires more of a commitment than the popular books that try to "make learning fun." It is comprehensive so that each lesson builds off of the previous one and is sequenced well at the right pace.

The outdated romaji did not matter to me since I can see for myself how FU and HU (or TI and CHI) are the same kana. The outdated version is actually just another perpective; the older version of romaji shows you in a clearer way how HA HE HI HO HU(fu) or TA TE TI(chi)TO TU(tsu) are from the same respective kana columns.

One still has to learn pronunciation from another source, probably audible.

... please see my review of her JSL series, which explains why she felt the need to create her own romazi system. In a nutshell, she's a perfectionist, and all prior romazi's are flawed in some way.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3EIET46QV2D06/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

When I went to order this book all of the reviews except one gave it 5 stars. So I ordered the book, ignoring the only one star review. I am an American living in Tokyo. I took this book to my Japanese language teacher who confirmed that this book uses OLD KANJI. Please do not waste your money on this book there are many better options out there to buy.

This is a useless book for self-study. It uses an outdated romaji system ("iti" instead of "ichi"), but worse of all, it doesn't tell you how to properly read each kanji when placed in a compound! Since each kanji can be pronounced a dozen ways, this book doesn't tell the reader which readings to use in a particular compound, and the reader will be left clueless, if not completely misguided. Avoid!

I have purchased quite a few books for kanji study in the past few years and this is probably the best of them all. I like the way the book only shows you kanji used in sample sentences only after you have learned them, which effectively gets you used to reading kanji pretty often, without the stress of random new kanji. All examples are well presented and easy to absorb. It also shows how the kanji looks as it is typed out as well as written out, which can be a bit different. The flaws of this book, is that it uses somewhat different romaji spellings (like TI for CHI) for pronunciations, and also should use hiragana/katakana or at least offer them as well for readings of kanji.
Some people may find the TI/CHI thing a big flaw, but you get used to it after seeing it a few times, and I was able to overlook it especially when everything else of this book is well done. WHY did I buy the other kanji books istead of just sticking with this?... Well, for one, I actually like to see different styles of teaching kanji, but also because (another flaw of this book)it is BIG. It's almost triple the size of other kanji books, so it isnt easily carried around. I used this for home study and toss the other books into my back to study elsewhere.

RJS is one of my favorite authors...

Well written, and interesting read.

MJL

I bought this book for my Grandson, who lives in another state and haven't gotten it to him yet. He has read the others in the trilogy and enjoyed them and requested this one. My only problem was that Amazon sent me two of them and then deducted S&H from my refund because UPS would not take it without my paying the postage. I did not order two, only one. If I had any problems with placing the order, I might have thought it was my fault, but I didn't and don't feel that I should be penalized for Amazon's error.

An exciting and interesting conclusion to Robert Sawyer's trilogy about intelligent descendants of the dinosaurs. Naturally in the way that fiction often does, it wraps up the loose ends almost too well. I was interested to discover that this is some of Sawyer's earliest published work. It has been a while since I read any of his more recent work but I think there is a contrast - the protagonists in the Hominids series are not nearly as certain or guaranteed of success.

What actually happens in the book? It would be difficult to say much without giving away a lot of the plot, but from the blurb you can doubtless gather that the Quintaglios discover they are not the only intelligent species on their moon. What they find out about their neighbours leads to very difficult times indeed, and threatens the goal of escape from their doomed home.

Foreigner


Foreigner (1994) is the third and final book of Sawyer's Quitaglio Ascension trilogy.

In Foreigner Sawyer borrows elements from real Human History to add bits and pieces to his characterizations. In this one he borrows bits and pieces from Guy de Chaulia, Sigismund Schlomo Freud Also; there is a little Japanese Kamikazes. There that's enough clues. Go out and get this book!

If you enjoyed The Fossil-Hunter and the Far-Seer as much as I did, you'll want to read this concluding book.


Next comes... nothing. Oh, well, I'll check out his short stories in Iterations, maybe read Calculating God, again. Or possibly the Neanderthal series ,hmm.


Sawyer does let his Liberal leanings peek out at you in this book, but not terribly so. The nose of the camel does get snuck under the tent.

All in all this is a delightful ending to a very pleasant trilogy.

Foreigner is a satisfying conclusion to the Quintaglio series. How to get off the moon before certain destruction? How to deal with a newly discovered dinosaur species? Why do the gest Quintaglios have such rage and then contrition when seening those new dinosaurs? It's not just dinosaurs, it's pyschology and family and thinking outside the egg. Loads of fun and lots of thought in this terrific read.

I must say that I particularly enjoyed the review of the Fla. resident. I am a 23 year resident of this town that Brenda C
ullerton describes. I only wish I had known her, AND her family! The "McMansions", now an everday word here, are ridiculous! She saw it with the building of one behind her own home!!
But the most compelling thing about the book is the waste,of human lives!! These people were disfunctional, no doubt about it!And probably would be charged with "child endangerment" today. But the love that the author shows for her mother and father, NO MATTER THEIR QUIRKS, and her inability to express that love, makes a true study in the nature of human beings!Sometimes, we lose what we choose to. She chose to make it front and center in this book! I can't say that I agree with all the author did, nor her family!! Some people will go "AGHG"! But as a resident of this town for some time, it sure is nice to see the veneer crack, and people weren't so perfect I truly loved when she described her mother gardening in her black bra and baggy panties!! And her mother going to town in the pink foam rollers!!That would be a REAL NO- NO today! This is a town of "Stepford Wives"! Would THEY go to town in pink foam rollers and snap-it beads?? Thanks, Brenda, for bringing a little "real" back to Ridgefield!!!

It's a crime that Brenda Cullerton isn't writing novels, because her style (reflecting years as a professional writer) is powerful and distinctive. So is her story of her upbringing by a pair of eccentrics protected by their talent and family wealth from any need to face reality. Cullerton, having escaped her parents after college, bravely decides to wade back in and come to grips with them in their declining years (which are every bit as colorful and maddening as their mid-life crises). I found her unvarnished account of her relationship with them enormously heartening. With the support of her husband, she got as close to them as she could and came away with some peace of mind--and a great book.

"As mother taught me, life was a stage - a real stage, with no metaphor intended - and everyone on it but us was an extra."
(-The Nearly Departed: Or, My Family & Other Foreigners)

Far from prosaic and most definitely diverting, Brenda Cullerton's unabashedly candid memoir "The Nearly Departed: Or, My Family & Other Foreigners" is a refreshing departure from the autobiographical norm. Dancing between dark humour, stinging wit and poignant life realities, the author's recollections of her wildly outlandish family are often more bitter than sweet. To be sure, the collective confessions from the `Cullerton Family Crypt' will have you sobbing, guffawing, sighing, and feeling strangely schizophrenic - all in one chapter.

The truth is, Brenda Cullerton's family would raise anyone's eyebrow. At the forefront of these eccentric anecdotes are her parents - a social misfit mother who gardened in baggy black undies, lavish jewelry coupled with pop-it beads, and her hair bedecked in curlers; and an alcoholic father who was usually found anywhere but home, and amassed a hidden fortune as traveling businessman in the shoe trade (only to later hide his cash in their dilapidated barn, stuffed in the toes of moldy footwear).

Now in their winter years, Brenda Cullerton's parents - suffering from ill health - evoke her return to this alien landscape called "home". As the author painstakingly sifts through piles of family memories encountered along the way, not only does she learn more about these virtual "foreigners" who are family, but ultimately discovers herself and the all reasons for her insatiable desire to escape the past.

Artfully and intelligently captured on paper, it is Cullerton's ingenuous journey through introspection which makes "The Nearly Departed" quite nearly flawless.

Far from prosaic and most definitely diverting, Brenda Cullerton's unabashedly candid memoir "The Nearly Departed: Or, My Family & Other Foreigners" is a refreshing departure from the autobiographical norm. Dancing between dark humour, stinging wit and poignant life realities, the author's recollections of her wildly outlandish family are often more bitter than sweet. To be sure, the collective confessions from the `Cullerton Family Crypt' will have you sobbing, guffawing, sighing, and feeling strangely schizophrenic - all in one chapter.

The truth is, Brenda Cullerton's family would raise anyone's eyebrow. At the forefront of these eccentric anecdotes are her parents - a social misfit mother who gardened in baggy black undies, lavish jewelry coupled with pop-it beads, and her hair bedecked in curlers; and an alcoholic father who was usually found anywhere but home, and amassed a hidden fortune as traveling businessman in the shoe trade (only to later hide his cash in their dilapidated barn, stuffed in the toes of moldy footwear).

Now in their winter years, Brenda Cullerton's parents - suffering from ill health - evoke her return to this alien landscape called "home". As the author painstakingly sifts through piles of family memories encountered along the way, not only does she learn more about these virtual "foreigners" who are family, but ultimately discovers herself and the all reasons for her insatiable desire to escape the past.

Artfully and intelligently captured on paper, it is Cullerton's ingenuous journey through introspection which makes "The Nearly Departed" quite nearly flawless.

I read a review of "The Nearly Departed" in the Ridgefield Press, which I still have delivered to my new address in another state. The review had me laughing so hard, I decided that I simply had to get this book. Having spent 23 years in Ridgefield, CT was a plus as I could picture so many scenes as described and these are NOT things one would see in Ridgefield! Perhaps one would see people going down a Main Street in pink foam curlers elsewhere, but certainly not there. Now that that is in perspective, Brenda Cullerton has a wit that will get you laughing out loud, but the book is so much deeper than one might first think. I realize that the average family is dysfunctional to a degree. Unfortunately for Brenda, her family seemed to encompass every dysfunctional element known to man! Hopefully in writing this book, she was able to come to terms with issues in her life; I know that in reading it, she helped me to both understand and come to terms with some things in mine. Thank you Brenda, for both a terrific laugh and a learning experience.

Her honest approach in writing and sharing her experiences make it a memorable experience for the reader to read. She shares her love for the people in her own way.

Her humorous re-telling of her experiences shows not only how she copes with living in a foreign land but how the Japanese themselves cope in having a "foreigner" living in their small farm town of Japan. Yes, rural towns do exist in Japan, as she clearly illustrates.

Living in a foreign land where nobody knows your name,is not always easy nor a smooth experience but her book make it an experience worth learning from.

I laughed and I cried. This is such a great memoir told in such a way that I felt like I was sitting in the pub catching up with a hilarious old mate. Memoirs Of A Gaijin will make anyone want to take the plunge and have some time out in rural Japan. The combination of highs, lows and quirky things Japanese people do makes this book an accessible and enjoyable read for everyone.

Needing to lose a few extra calories? May I suggest reading "Memoirs of a Gaijin"? That's right! This book is guaranteed to tone the abdominal muscles. Seriously though, this is a VERY amusing book. Read at your own risk though. Besides the calorie loss, you will find yourself wanting to travel more. At least I did

I loved this book! The author is a natural story teller, with a great gift of humour! I laughed out loud so many times! The book was easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable! Through the author we gain a rare perspective on day to day Japanese culture as seen through the eyes of a gaijin! This book is a must read for anyone who has been or is thinking about going to Japan!

I read all of the 5 Star reviews of this book, so I went ahead and ordered it with confidence. That was a mistake. I thought that it would be fun hearing the experiences of a foreigner in Japan and comparing them with my own experiences during my 3 months in Tokyo. I was wrong. I could in no way shape or form relate with this girl on any level. I felt that she was blinded by her own beliefs and took little time to digest the things she was experiencing, simply placing judgement on everything she came across. Not only did she not have much to offer in the form of an open minded opinion, I didn't find the things she said funny, in fact sometimes actually offensive.

I honestly did want to like this book. I gave it a chance. When I became frustrated with the author I put the book down, took some time and came back to it later, hoping it was just me. But time and time again I found myself shaking my head in disbelief to what I just read.

I find that this book gives you a very practical approach to a complex subject. I would recommend this to anyone exploring international culture for either business or pleasure!

Quite good book. Storti takes the majors contributions of the seminal authors as Hofstede, Trompenaars, Hall and others and puts theirs theories in useful exercises (questionnaires, dialogues, quotes, etc.) Well organized, this book is target to a personal expatriation experience usage. The book focus heavily on the most tangibles cultural patterns, such as the communication issues, using a non- cultural or social expert vocabulary. In consequence some readers will feel perhaps a tendency to over simplify the more complex social reality. But surely this approach was assumed by Storti who aimed to create a expatriation preparation toll to be use mostly by managers. Having in mid this goal this book is quite a good concretization. Its also a good starter in the challenging cross culture filed.

I was required to purchase Storti's "Figuring Foreigners Out" for an anthropology class. The book gives relatively little anthropological information, when compared with other loftier textbooks. However, the quality of the information is still high.

Perhaps the most important selling point of Storti's book is its practicality. Storti truly teaches with short chapters and dozens of accompanying exercises. His exercises often prove his anthropological points as well or better than the informative section of each chapter. It's excellent for personal use or use in a cross-cultural effort. I highly recommend it for anyone doing short- or long-term global work.