Overseas Americans : The Essential Guide To Living And Working Abroad

Rating:
Summary: Decent reference, but no context
Review: I was expecting a bit more from a book calling itself an "Essential Guide". The whole book is basically a collection of 15 documents taken from sources like the US state department and the IRS. They cover taxation, emigration, what to do if you get arrested and a bunch of other legalistic things relating to being abroad. Unfortunately, that's all it has: the documents. There is no commentary, so you're left reading government documents that are written like stereo instructions. About 60 of the 160 or so pages are tax instructions...basically reprints of the expat equivalent of 1040 instructions. While I haven't checked, these seem like the kind of documents that a) change relatively often and b) can be obtained for free if you need them.
Bottom line: This is a good book to have on the shelf as a reference you hope to never have to use. As for providing you with a practical guide to living and working overseas, try something like the Expert Expatriate.