Newspaper Article

A tour of two countries

Reviewed by Zoe Hurley Note: TITLE: Culture Shock! - Denmark. AUTHOR: Morton Strange. PUBLISHER: (Times Editions, 228 pages)., TITLE: Culture Shock! - Germany. AUTHOR: Richard Lord. PUBLISHER: (Times Editions, 287 pages).

1996

Overview

Knowing relatively little about Denmark, I decided to plunge first into its territory. Morton Strange is the author/tour guide, but despite his enigmatic surname the book unfortunately does little to justify the series title. Strange describes Denmark as an incredibly homogeneous society, across the lines of class, gender and race. Regionally there are few differences in terms of culture and language and unlike many other European countries, there are very few foreigners. There is a remarkably equal distribution of wealth, placing the majority of Danes within the middle-income bracket, with few rich or poor on the opposite ends of the scale. Denmark has held on firmly to its cultural heritage and traditions and this is reflected in its architecture, which has been well preserved rather than demolished in favour of the new. Strange informs us that Denmark is a highly efficient and organised society, where the transport system runs according to schedule and every square metre of land is \"accounted for and fenced off and utilised\".

• Publisher: The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad