Whether you're a foreign student visiting for a semester or a business person visiting for a week, American Ways,Third Edition covers all your basic needs from the trends and customs of day-to-day activities to the more esoteric customs regarding cultural values, politics, education, religion and relationships. In this revised edition, Gary Althen and Janet Bennett have added material that provides the clearest insights yet into the American psyche and culture, reflecting many of the monumental changes that have occurred since the previous edition's publication. Examples include a rewritten chapter on politics that d iscusses Bush-administration policies and controversies and the election of th e nation's first black president, as well as an updated chapter on social rela tionships and the effect that networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook ha ve had on meeting people and creating friendships.