to battle an image of arrogance and nationalism . Written by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick , the novel chronicled American foreign policy and diplomacy failures in a fictitious developing nation . In the book , the American ambassador to the country is portrayed as crude and inept . That enduring legacy has not been easy to shake , and even the U.S. president knows the score . During a recent trek to Turkey , President Obama said in his remarks at the Tophane Cultural Center in Istanbul that he knows the `` stereotypes of the United States are out there . '' `` Sometimes it suggests that America has become selfish and crass , or that we do n't care about the world beyond us , '' he said . `` And I 'm here to tell you that that 's not the country that I know and it 's not the country that I love . '' Whitman , the author of the `` Wanderlust and Lipstick '' guides and publisher of `` Traveling with Kids , '' often gives lectures and workshops -- many geared toward female travelers -- and speaks on the importance of Americans
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When travel author Beth Whitman was in Vietnam , she witnessed a group of young American male travelers rough-housing in the streets outside of the Rex Hotel . Americans traveling to sites around the world like the Blue Mosque in Istanbul should be respectful . In their youthful , loud exuberance , they ended up ripping each other 's shirts as they horsed around . `` I thought to myself that those shirts probably cost maybe 20 , 30 , 40 dollars apiece , and here you are in a culture where the people may not be even making that much on a monthly basis . `` It 's that sort of thing , just not being aware how off-putting that can be to the local culture . '' Such behavior , while seemingly harmless , can help to cement the moniker of `` the ugly American , '' which came to refer to loud , rude and thoughtless behavior of U.S. citizens abroad . The term came about as a result of the book `` The Ugly American , '' and more than 50 years after its publication , those from the United States continue