Book excerpt: Most young students of American culture believe many of the cultural assumptions they grow up with are universal. As insiders, speaking a common language, following the accepted patterns of behavior embedded in a particular way of life, most of us take our own social actions for granted, and it is a challenge to realize the strangeness and wonder of our own behaviors. The distinct aim of each edition of this popular classroom supplement has been to enable students to better understand themselves by casting American culture into sharper relief—offering other mirrors, other reflections. The latest edition’s twenty-one personalized narratives, of which seven are new, unveil fresh portrayals of American culture. Each contribution offers unique ethnographic perspectives of various aspects of American culture that enable us to better understand ourselves.