A fascinating fusion of memoir, manners, and cultural history from a successful
businesswoman well versed in the unique challenges of working in contemporary Ch
ina.
During the course of a career that has, quite literarily, moved her aroun
d the world, no country has fascinated Eden Collinsworth more than China, where
she has borne witness to its profound transformation. After numerous experiences
there that might best be called "unusual" by Western standards, she concluded t
hat despite China's growing status as a world economy, businessmen in mainland C
hina were fundamentally uncomfortable in the company of their Western counterpar
ts. This realization spawned an idea to work collaboratively with a major Chines
e publisher on a Western etiquette guide, which went on to became a bestseller a
nd prompted a branch of China's Ministry of Education to suggest that she create
a curriculum for the school system. In "I Stand Corrected," Collinsworth tells
the entertaining and insightful story of the year she spent living among the Chi
nese while writing a book featuring advice on such topics as the non-negotiable
issue of personal hygiene, the rules of the handshake, and making sense of forei
gners. Scrutinizing the kind of etiquette that has guided her own business caree
r, one which has unfolded in predominately male company, Collinsworth creates a
counterpart that explains Chinese practices and reveals much about our own Weste
rn culture. At the same time, "I Stand Corrected" is a wry but self-effacing ref
lection on the peripatetic career she led while single-handedly raising her son,
and here she details the often madcap attempts to strike a balance that was rig
ht for them both.
