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I read this for work because I will be teaching an adjacent subject soon. I started out loving it, but two significant problems emerged.

First and most importantly, the author relies, almost entirely, on anecdotes. There are very, very few actual scientific studies mentioned and they do not specifically relate to the larger claims the author was making. As I read, I constantly wondered whether these observations could all be chalked up to confirmation bias. Meyer highlighted example after example of cases where she talked to someone and her culture map had the right solution. But, what about the cases when it didn't work at all? Because of this fundamental bias, it is entirely possible that nothing in this book is truly an accurate representation of these cultural differences.

I do not think Meyer was intending to mislead, or that she was sloppy in her research or efforts. I just want to point out that there is nothing in this book that demonstrates the measurable validity of her claims. The whole purpose of science is to understand reality by removing human bias as best as possible. Cultural differences can be (and have been) studied scientifically. This book doesn't show that. It is Meyer's personal opinion, based on her personal experiences, without any indication of any effort to control for her biases. That's fine, but I doubt most readers are fully aware of what "confirmation bias" actually means. Meyer should have been much more clear and upfront about the non-scientific nature of this book and the weaknesses of her methodology. As it is, I strongly suspect readers will come away with an impression that these dimensions are more solid than they may actually be.

The second problem is chapter 7. I mean chapter 2. No, wait, chapter 7. Hang on... they are basically the same. These two dimensions are so similar that Meyer literally repeats herself (ex. pages 72 and 216 give the exact same advice for the same exact problem). If you looked at an example from either chapter and had to guess which one it came from, you'd probably struggle. Chapter 2 was about "Providing Negative Feedback" and talked about how people express criticism and disagreement differently. Chapter 7 was about "Disagreeing Productively" and talked about how people express criticism and disagreement differently.

When I got to chapter 7, I couldn't help feeling like Meyer had forgotten she wrote chapter 2 and thought she was expressing the idea for the first time. Overall I do appreciate the nuance and careful distinctions she makes in this book, but this case just did not seem warranted. Criticism of 'actions and ideas' and criticism of 'ideas and actions' are not distinct enough to separate into two categories. If I use this in teaching, I will certainly combine the two together because teaching them apart just doesn't make sense.

Despite my criticisms, I did enjoy this book and do genuinely think it can be very useful. Taxonomies and frameworks for thinking are immensely useful (unless they are objectively erroneous) and this book certainly provides some practically useful ways to navigate and resolve cultural differences. Even if Meyer's evidence turned out to be shaky (which it may not be), these concepts can be applied to start conversations that actually help to address apparently irreconcilable differences between people of different cultures. Her nuanced perspective is totally appropriate and it is very likely that I will be purchasing copies for my all students very soon (we will of course address the issue of anecdotal evidence in our discussions, if we do use this book).