If like me you're fascinated by people's behaviour, this will be as welcome as a politely proffered umbrella in a shower of rain.
It's a sort of history of manners and how behaviour has changed, more or less since mediaeval times up to the present day. Roughly chronological, there are some interesting snippets here, with evidence mainly from literature or from other historical writings upon the subject of etiquette and the like. Focusing on what English (as opposed to British) people see as good manners, there's nevertheless some allusion to what other people think of us.
Although this is a thick hardback with over 300 pages, and as I said some of it is interesting, I felt by the end that somehow the author had only touched upon the subject: I wanted to know more, and sensed that there's probably more out there to know.
