After you, Madam

• A short history of proper behaviour
• Ari Turunen, Markus Partanen

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This book is trying to reveal the sometimes surprising reasons for changing European behavior rules and to show that the consequences of development are not always positive, as the self-suffocating superficial luster of social etiquette teaches us. Etiquette guides explain how one should behave; this book is trying to explain why people behave in a certain way. The history of good behavior in many ways is rough but knowing it can be comforting because it helps to understand the emergence of some common habits of Western life style. The book considers what is in principle decent behavior. The question really is: Does the so-called etiquette exist or is it just a smoke curtain for human control, a kind of spiritual cage that prevents the natural, animal behavior of humans?
Although human behavior in everyday situations is not openly violent as it used to be, man has not changed in nature because no "human nature" exists: man has always been, to a great extent, what his surroundings make of him; behavior is largely based on compliance with social norms. But the best behavior always comes from the heart: the most simple thing is just honest appreciation of the other person.

Ari Turunen (1966) a Finnish journalist, columnist and publicist, graduated from social and political sciences. He has written several books about stereotypes, superstitions, lies and habits, full of vivid anecdotes about patterns of human behavior. Some of his books are Ei onnistu! Jälkiviisasta vastustamisen historiaa (2001.), Hyvän ja pahan merkit, eli, Taikauskoisten tapojen tarina (2002.) and Tosi on! Valheen, vääristelyn ja vilpin historiaa (2005.). The Book of Ater You, Madam. A brief history of good behavior, is his second book published in Croatian.

Markus Partanen (1963) worked as a culture editor on Finnish public television and produced documentary programs on cultural history. Today he is a producer for all jazz television and a music journalists. He wrote a book about Finnish jazz.

• ISBN: 978-953-8075-47-6
• Dimensions: 128x200 mm
• Number of pages: 196
• Cover: paperback
• Year of the edition: 2018
• Original title: Ulkokultaisen käytöksen kirja eli eurooppalaisten tapojen tarina
• Original language: Finnish
• Translation: Kristina Špehar-Vuković