One Kiss or Two? : The Art and Science of Saying Hello book cover

Global Greetings Guide

Travel Writing

One Kiss or Two? : The Art and Science of Saying Hello

by Andy Scott

Every encounter begins with a greeting. Be it a quick 'Hello!' or the somewhat longer and gracious 'Sula manchwanta galunga omugobe!' shaking hands or shaking, well, rather more private parts of our anatomy, we have been doing it many times daily for thousands of years.


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About the book

It should be the most straightforward thing in the world, but this apparently simple act is fraught with complications, leading to awkward misunderstandings and occasionally even outright violence. In the illuminating and entertaining One Kiss or Two? Andy Scott goes down the rabbit hole to take a closer look at what greetings are all about. In looking at how they have developed, he discovers a kaleidoscopic world of etiquette, body-language, evolution, neuroscience, anthropology and history. Through in-depth research and his personal experiences, and with the help of experts, Scott takes us on a captivating journey through a subject far richer than we might have expected.

Book details

Published by Duckworth Books

Paperback ISBN: 9780715653197 21 Mar 2019 129 x 197 x 24 (mm) 302g