Travel books find their way to my desk regularly. If only there were time to savor them all. Attractive Unattractive Americans: How the world sees America, by Norwegian Rene Zografos has been with me for only a few months but I’ll be seeing America differently for years.
Rene spent seven years traveling the world asking what there is to like and to dislike about America. He visited every continent, documenting very negative and very positive opinions then wrapped the statements into a slim book. The results are telling. Is there any one surprising conclusion? No, there are many.
Anecdotes are bundled together, both Rene’s and others. I can only imagine how much work went into transcribing and editing this into a volume. That said it is not without flaws. It is a self-published work and while Rene is an accomplished journalist in Norway, I wish he’d worked with an editor who could have helped shape the read better. The material is too good to be lost in meandering structure. Like a great indie film, once you’re in the theater, enjoy the zingers but stay for the ending.
Chapters are finished with statements from different countries and relative facts like: “Did you know the number of American passport holders is increasing intensely? In 2000 about 48 million Americans had passports, but in 2013 the number was more than 110 million.”1.
How members of each country perceive Americans is often more telling about their cultural situation than the U.S. In the chapter, Moods from the Sahara, for example there’s a discussion about the three types of Americans, 1. The quiet one, 2. the outgoing one, 3. the crazy one and why. The tour operator generally sees Americans as becoming more confident after a few days on a trip and then treat their guides as friends while starting to spend a lot of money. Without knowing how other nationalities measure up in comparison it’s hard to think this is anything more than human nature than particularly American (and I may be too American to know better!)
There’s a lot of humor in these pages as well. The chapter, The Jailhouse Blues, talks about some of the weird laws on the books in America. I have no doubt they exist but its a reflection of America’s political system where election fundraising depends on ambition. It’s more sexy to get things done, sponsor and push through legislation – rather than enforcing, and raising funds to enforce, laws already on the books, let alone get rid of irrelevant ones. Kudos to Rene for illuminating how much antiquated rhetoric pads the system. It’s entertaining (or could be terrifying) if a policeman or woman arrested you because:
- You are a woman in Tuscon illegally wearing pants
- In Illinois you go fishing in pajamas
- You are apprehended for falling asleep in a cheese factory in South Dakota
The book dives in deeper after that. Rene was in New York shortly after 9/11 to pay his respects. It was a dividing line and in the chapter, The America I Knew, he mourns for a country that has shifted.
“The America I knew was a place for outsiders in the world who dared to be different, where the Jew, the Muslim and the Christian sat together to have a cup of coffee and a talk. The America I knew would accept each every (sic) person exactly as they were. The America I knew has changed.”
What he sees since is a “continuous increase of blind religious hate…and an aggression toward everything that seems to be different to what they are used to…”3.
His perspective is supported in a chapter by an Australian traveler, Christine, and also by entrepreneur and American expat, Mark Manson, who feels that the country is like a drunken brother he loves and doesn’t.
Rene finishes Attractive Unattractive Americans with Carpe Diem. His passion for America shines through. But he also sees a huge challenge in the national obsession with gadgets and with fear that is leading to an abiding, emotional numbness. It has blanketed America with disaffection, ambivalence, and disconnection. “There has been a change modern America, a change that is keeping many people away from daily social life and employment…and it’s absolutely necessary for keeping a mentally-healthy America.”4. He calls for honesty, for more than lip service and risk taking to choose the direction your inner voice tells you to and follow the road of the life you want to live.”
Rene’s perspective is echoed in the work of London-based designer, Yanko Tsvetkov in his book, The Atlas of Prejudice. Across the world, “We need more idealism. Not the naive, distracted kind; we have plenty of it on Facebook, Twitter, or any other place where slacktivism reigns supreme. We need the kind of idealism that is informed and able to reach beyond the day after tomorrow.
But most of all, we need to learn how to laugh at ourselves, and to give up the habit of frowning all the time.”
I’ll, seriously (wink) keep working on that while seeing America through others’ eyes.
The book, The Atlas of Prejudice, the complete stereotype map collection is available in many languages as well as English. References from Attractive Unattractive Americans: 1. p.42, 2. p. 139, 3.146, 4.223
Enjoy the read? I hope you’ll share. Pin this:
Help spread the word about what wonderful work travel bloggers are doing by checking out these linkups.
Very interesting! I love that the author went far and wide and tried to get both the good and the bad. I find most people have a tendency of picking a stereotype and painting the whole country with a negative brush. It’s refreshing to see someone take the unbiased route (as unbiased as possible anyway)!
P.S. Introducing yourself as Canadian definitely gets your different treatment abroad. As a Canadian who often gets mistaken for American, I can confirm this!
I keep hearing that about being introduced as Canadian getting you different, better treatment, than as an American. I can only say that we’re each individuals, but stereotypes do begin somewhere, for better or worse.
I find it fascinating what Americans think of America and what others cultures think of America. In a lot of cases neither is very accurate but your your own beliefs create your reality. Compared to a lot of cultures Americans are not big travelers so their perceptions are shaped by where they live and who they know. We often laugh about how little Americans know about America. Even well educated ones. It takes a bit of effort to learn and appreciate there are other ways of doing things, and that some of them might actually be better.
Couldn’t agree with you more, Elizabeth. Until Americans learn to get out of their comfort zones and travel, even across our own continent, we’re likely to keep being ignorant about the world and our country.
Incredibly interesting! Will definitely be looking for this book as it sounds worth a read. As Canadians we are often initally confused for Americans. People will have whole discussions with us about America, Americans and American values and it usually continues for a while until we convince them we are Canadian. So wwe’ve heard quite a bit of others’ views and it would be interesting to see how it is all pulled together in this book
Thanks and conversely, people have suggested that I introduce myself as Canadian instead of American to get better treatment overseas! Crazy isn’t it.
very interesting. Will have to look into this.
Thanks Holly. I found it pretty interesting.
That’s an interesting concept for a book, especially one who is not from America. I’m always looking for something to read and this might be what I need. When we were living in Malaysia, I was fascinated by how the world perceives the USA. One Australian friend wanted to have an American themed party. She planned to serve drinks in red plastic cups, have people wear bandannas tied around their heads (a la Axl Rose), wear denim overalls and eat alligator. This event proved difficult to pull off. When my hairdresser found out I was from Texas, he wanted to know if everybody walked around with guns.
That sounds like a crazy theme-party! Funny but the stereotypes start somewhere. Thanks for writing.
USA has been my adopted home for 13 years and I could talk for hours… Generally I think it’s hard to classify 300 million people is such a diverse country, and of course you’ll have a different view of the US depending on where you’re from and how much you’ve traveled around it. That’s why this sentence in your post resonated with me, “How members of each country perceive Americans is often more telling about their cultural situation than the U.S.”
Thanks, Pola. I appreciate your thoughtful insight. We’re definitely a mixed bunch here in the U.S. I hope our paths cross one day.
I want to read that book! Such an interesting project 🙂
Thanks, Claudia. I hope you find it worthwhile.
It sounds like a very interesting read. Although I am not American, I am an Canadian expat living in Taiwan and I can appreciate the topic. It is funny how the world views people from different countries.
So true. I savor our cultural differences. It would be a boring world if we were all alike.
Sounds like a really interesting book – I’m from Australia though have lived in America for a while now, and I do find it interesting the huge difference in stereotypes and opinions of America from countries outside the border compared to that which americans think of their own country.
This sounds like a really interesting read, thanks for highlighting it! Heading over to purchase now. …and side note…seriously? I can’t go fishing in my pyjamas in Illinois!??! WHo thinks up these things and bothers to go through the process of adding it into law?!
I envy you the Expat experience. Has to be enlightening. I traveled for 6 months on a RTW but to stay put for awhile and really get to know another country is on my bucket list.
This sounds like a very interesting book! I’m not American, but the things that will be discussed in the text could be rather insightful. 😀
You might find it interesting. I think it’s a better read for U.S. citizens (Said as an American who’d love to share it with some!)
With a recent racial murder in my normally peaceful community, I’ve been asking a lot of questions lately about prejudice. I’m going to pick this up today.
Sorry to hear about the violence. It tears neighborhoods apart. My heart’s with you.
I’m always on the lookout for new reads, thanks for the rec!
You’re welcome, Brianna. It’s a modest book but contains some gems of insight.
Sounds like an interesting read, especially the changes observed by the author after 9/11. Unfortunately I would have to agree that I think it has made many people in the US fearful and changed the way they relate to people from other countries and cultures.
Sadly true. I think things are getting better but there’s so much paranoia. Odd times in many ways.
I´m always on the look-out for books to add to my to-read-list. Looks like I found a new one!
Thanks, Kathrin. I hope you enjoy it.
Looks like this is one of the travel books that had an impact on you. What other travel books do you love?
Anything by Pico Iyer is wonderful. Cousineau’s ‘The Art of Pilgrimage’ is a favorite. I’m starting to read Don George’s ‘On Travel Writing’ and have a half dozen others on my shelf.
Sounds like a very interesting book! I think I’ll have to check it out. I love the strange laws you mentioned–it’s hard to imagine how they even came to be! And totally agree about how we need to have a sense of humor and learn to laugh at ourselves more!
I’m learning that laughter can make anything easier to handle. I laugh at myself and the absurdly wonderful life I’m having often.
I think I’d thoroughly enjoy this read. Some of my most entertaining anecdotes have come from run-ins with Americans abroad, like the guy from Virginia who told me I spoke really good English for a Canadian. 🙂
That’s hilarious! We Amurikans can be pretty provincial.