Yes, and in the tropics it depends on the time of year. For instance I've just been reading this thread on the walk from the hotel to the office in Nairobi. It's about noon, and the sun was high on my right shoulder, so as it's May I was walking West.
When I did the same walk in February at the same time the sun was high on my left shoulder.
However assuming the sun does rise (i.e. you're not in a polar region near the solstices), it will always rise somewhere to the east (even if it's south-south-east) and set somewhere to the west.
First time in Southern hemisphere (RSA, in late July i.e. winter): come from the airport, settle at the Jburg hotel, take a bit of a walk and find a nice restaurant, decide it's warm enough to sit down and have a beer at the terrace.
Choose a nice table that'll be in the sun for the next hour... and 5 minutes later realize that yes, the sun moves the other way round than in Northern hemisphere.
> The first qualitative change occurs at 23.5° latitude, where the noon sun on the June solstice passes directly overhead. This latitude is called the Tropic of Cancer. Farther south, in the so-called tropics, the noon sun will appear in the northern sky for a period of time around the June solstice. At the equator, the noon sun is straight overhead on the equinoxes. And after you pass 23.5° south latitude (the Tropic of Capricorn), the noon sun is always in the north. Much farther south is the Antarctic Circle, where the sun never quite rises on the June solstice and never quite sets on the December solstice. Researchers at the South Pole have continuous daylight from September through March, and continuous night (including twilight) from March through September.
Yes, and I still hate myself for not specifically looking at this aspect when I spent 6 months in Argentina. Six months with the sun turning in the wrong direction with me not having any clue of it!
Yes, Gooley's books focus mostly on what he experienced in Britain - they would probably be useful in other northern european countries, or maybe in northern parts of America, but (I guess) not so much in New Mexico etc, where vegetation and animals are wildly different. They're interesting reads and good introductions, but if you want that kind of understanding for travels outside that area, you probably need more local information and general knowledge.
When I did the same walk in February at the same time the sun was high on my left shoulder.
However assuming the sun does rise (i.e. you're not in a polar region near the solstices), it will always rise somewhere to the east (even if it's south-south-east) and set somewhere to the west.