A few words of thanks are due here to a number of people who, directly or indirectly, have helped to bring the longstanding idea of writing a book about America to tangible reality:

Jeff Toms of Farnham Castle, and Farnham’s clients from around the world whose search for knowledge about working with Americans has added so much to my own;

Helen Stiven and Derek Manuel of Hitachi Data Systems, who first gave me the opportunity to live and work in Britain and Europe, and to see America from a European viewpoint;

My teachers and friends who helped me learn about America: the late Dr. Willard Wallace of Berlin, Connecticut and Wesleyan University – who one evening several years ago, during a conversation around his kitchen table, said “Why don’t you put this in a book?” – and Herbert Goodrow of Berlin High School.

My parents Ruth and Arthur Day for a lifetime of love and encouragement;

Those who assisted me with their opinions, experiences and information: Allen Cary of Belmont California, Sarah Day of New York City, Melanie Wentz Long of Oakland California, and Cathleen Avila of Houston Texas.

Most of all, to my wife Amilia for her patience, editorial comments, and extensive research and technical assistance, and to both her and our daughter Nor Aimy for holding up a Malaysian mirror to this American every day.

EDITORIAL NOTE

To help you get used to one small aspect of the American way of business, throughout this book we have used American spelling, punctuation and usage, with one exception. Contrary to what Americans themselves might prefer, when referring to an unnamed or indefinite person, male or female, we use the third person masculine singular pronouns “he” and “him”, rather than “he or she” and “him or her”. We have more to say about this usage in Chapter 9, but we feel that the masculine singular is both more concise and smoother. That’s something Americans will appreciate.

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