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The essential, practical and highly entertaining guide to first impressions

About the Author

ANDY SCOTT has greeted people in more than 60 countries. After gaining a PhD in History from Cambridge and holding visiting fellowships at Yale, he joined the Cabinet Office in 2009, where he worked on a range of domestic and international projects. He has since then served as a diplomat in Libya and Sudan and been a consultant to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and is now a Conflict and Stabilisation Adviser in the UK Government 's Stabilisation Unit. He lives in London, but still calls a small village in Suffolk home.

Reviews

'To kiss or not to kiss? This delightful book explores greeting etiquette across different cultures and provides a great deal of entertainment. I thoroughly recommend it' Jane Goodall

‘With meticulous research, acute insight, infectious curiosity and gentle humour... this book introduces us to ourselves’ Kate Fox, bestselling author of Watching the English

‘After reading this book, I feel liberated’ Literary Review

'Kissing hello is a social minefield... fortunately, Andy Scott may have some answers' The Times

'Scott s winning study combines scholarly rigour with a voice that is funny, warm and humane. I can t imagine a better guide to the intricate art of saying hello' Joe Moran, author of Queuing for Beginners

'From Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi s deathclamp handshake to the penis-offering Walbiri in the Australian outback, learn the perfect greeting globally' New Scientist, Best Book of the Year

'Diplomat Andy Scott speculates on the origins of the cheek-kissing tradition... and how to avoid a social faux pas no matter where you are' Conde Nast Traveler

'Fascinating... by the end of Scott s book, you see that if we stopped greeting, the world would come to an end' The Lady

'From the ubiquitous handshake to the, thankfully, less popular genital grab, Andy Scott's vade mecum of the social science and background to the world's many greetings is infallible reading for any member of civilised society' William Hanson, British etiquette coach and columnist

'Andy Scott has written an utterly charming and fascinating book. I will never be able to look at a handshake or a hug the same way again.' Joshua Foer, internationally bestselling author of Moonwalking with Einstein and co-founder of Atlas Obscura

'Who would have guessed that so much lies behind a greeting? As Scott demonstrates so ably, it's not just etiquette, but also history, evolution and brain function... popular science writing at its best' Chris Frith, Emeritus Professor of Neuropsychology, UCL