May 29, 2023 | Rome, Italy

The Culture Code

By |2018-03-21T18:22:43+01:00March 1st, 2008|Recent Reviews|

By Clotaire Rapaille

Broadway Books, 2007. 224 pages.

&

#8220;The Culture Code” is a delightful little book that will answer the big question: Why the hell do Americans do the silly things they do? In an enlightening romp through the adolescent personality of American culture, Clotaire Rapaille, a psychiatrist-turned-marketing genius, uncovers why Americans associate sex with violence, shopping with life, cheese with coffins, and obesity with checking out.

He also explains how you make a hotel elegant (put phones in the john), how you make an SUV exude freedom (make the headlights look like horses’ eyes), and how you change a culture (you go after its children). There are many “a-ha” moments in the book, which may cause you to feel like a lightbulb just clicked on over your head. This is a quick read you’ll be sure to pass on to everyone you know.

About the Author:

After graduating from the University of North Carolina with a degree in music composition, Matthew Fiorentino flew to Italy to have a look around. While attending language classes in Sorrento, he fell in love with his Italian teacher. Matt has an unhealthy obsession with Italian volcanoes (Stromboli is sick), late Beethoven, Salman Rushdie, Totó, Dante, and Sicilian cannoli. He now lives in Boston.