These training activities contributed by some of the foremost names in intercultural human resources development are classified into six parts that include icebreakers, culture-general activities (consisting of cultural dynamics, communication, and time), culture-specific activities, language and interpretation, leadership and team development, and expatriation and acculturation. The seventh section of this book provides helpful information on the editors and the contributors and where and how to reach them. In lieu of an index there is an activity locator which provides short but detailed information about each activity so as to guide the reader to select those activities which would best suit a particular training situation.

The book comes with a foreword by Philip R. Harris and a valuable introduction on how best to use the book by the editors.

Among the ice breaker activities are Coups and Faux Pas, See Differences and Similarities, and Where in the world do you come from. Insider-Outsider by Donna Stringer which is an activity aimed at enhancing our use of empathy to make individuals feel more included that I found to be very effective.

Who Am I? Who Are You? by Eric Lynn is one of seven cultural dynamics activities. Its aim is to facilitate understanding of one's business counterparts, based on the principle "Let them talk." Other activities include Working in Unfamiliar Surroundings, Responses to Different Scales, and In Other Worlds: An Intercultural Space Fantasy.

Communication is addressed in nine activities that run the gamut from a Communication Continuum, through Mixed Messages, The Transcultural Communicator, Networking Across Cultures, to What is it? What is it for? I particularly liked Conducting the Intercultural Meeting by Gary Althen which is intended to help people become aware of the assumptions and customary behaviors they and others bring to meetings and to help them begin to think about ways of conducting meetings that are most likely to draw on the potential contributions of everyone present.

In the Culture Specific section, I found that I would be comfortable using the Cross-cultural Dialogues of Craig Storti and Arguing Asparagus by George Simons. Both of these in different ways lend themselves to multiple usages.

Of the eight activities in the Leadership and Team Development section, I thought that Eric Lynn's "Of course I know what a TEAM is! Do you?" would be highly usable and very effective. Likewise Cultural Self-Awareness in Leadership Teams by Malati Shinazi offered opportunities of poignancy and enhanced understanding.

To be honest, there are activities in the book that I would be less than comfortable employing. That said, however, the book has a majority of activities that I could and would use. Global Competence is an outstanding piece of work for intercultural trainers. It is a must for international and multinational organizations' human resource development departments. For the individual practitioner it is of immense value by providing, at the ready, a wide range of excellent training activities that are adaptable to many international business training sessions.

David C. Wigglesworth, Ph.D, an interculturalist in human resources, management, and organization development is president of D.C.W. Research Associates International, 2606 Parkdale Drive, Kingwood, TX 77339-2476 USA. Tel: 281.359.4234; Email: dcwigg@earthlink.net