This guide was adapted from an article by Arthur Gordon originally titled "How to Understand Those Mystifying Americans." Each page of the text is divided into two parts, with the English version given on one side and the Vietnamese on the other. The guide is composed of two main sections. The first is addressed to Indochinese refugees and gives: (1) a sketch of the general American character, (2) a general historical background of the United States, and (3) some of the salient features of present-day American social and cultural life. The second part is addressed to sponsors, employers, friends, etc. of refugees from Indochina. It is organized as an alphabetical glossary. Each word represents a concept that has to be dealt with in everyday life, such as bank, children, climate, friends, food, games and sports, language, names, offensive behavior, police, time. Each annotation gives the knowledge of and/or attitude toward the concept that an Indochinese person would most probably have. It then suggests how Americans should handle these social situations. A short bibliography suggests further reading. (TL)