The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille
This book is definitely one of the most interesting books I've read so far this year. The author is a cultural anthropologist who consults for several major corporations on how to sell products to different peoples. He talks about how when hired by Jeep in the 90's, the luxury SUV trend was just starting. In his research, he discovered that Americans think of Jeeps as horses: Riding in a Jeep the wind is in your hair, you can travel on new terrain and make discoveries . . . They changed the look of Jeep from having square headlights to having round ones because a horse has round eyes. Then he talks about how in France and Germany, the people there see the Jeep as the "liberator." During WWII, Americans rode on Jeeps to rescue France from Germany; and Germans view the Jeep as America liberating Germany from its own darkness. This is a fascinating book about what makes an American, an American, and what makes a Japanese person Japanese. Not to be confused with stereotyping, this book simply reveals the cultural codes that people in certain cultures are exposed to in their own country. I would strongly recommend this book, it is a wonderful read.