Customer Reviews

Italian Without Words

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
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i'm not sure why i'm the first to comment that this book is 80% universal body language (demonstrated by colorful italian characters)/20% actual italian body language/hand gestures. if you want to laugh at 'translations' of a man holding his stomach and grimacing ("italian" for "i ate like a pig!"), or holding his nose ("italian" for "you stink!") then buy this book. if you don't know what a woman rolling her eyes with a dreamy expression means (in "italian" --"he's a hunk") or how to say "don't touch me" in "italian" (point your ever-handy wooden spoon at someone and flare your eyes), then get this book. the few actual italian hand gestures are ok but there aren't many.

This is a light-hearted subject, but an important one, too. I first became interested in Italian hand gestures after I read that a key soccer game was once lost because the coach explained (complete with hand gestures) what he wanted an incoming player to do. Once the player was in the game, the opposing coach (who saw but did not hear the plan) was able to stop it.

What's not to love?

This is the best of several books on the subject, and it can be treated as pure entertainment or something to study before a trip to the 'bel paese' -- it works well in both contexts. The gestures are clearly explained, and the subject matter skillfully stays clear of the ridicule or overly comic elements that plague some similar efforts.

My take: there's hardly a more interesting way to prepare for a trip to Italy than to open a bottle of dolcetto and practice these gestures with your travel partner.

A side note: Italians get a big friendly laugh from forigners who accurately use their hand gestures!

This is a book that you definately need to see (really, see) to appreciate it. It's got all kinds of useful and not-so-useful phrases, such as "I'll break your knees!," "I'll blind you!," and "You're beautiful!" It shows you the proper gesture, a phrase to go along with it, and even how to correctly pronounce it. Get this book, even if you have no need to learn any Italian phrases. It's hilarious, and definately worth the money.

During my language courses, I include the "unspoken language", which makes up about 50% of Italian communication!!! Hand-gestures are fun and actually have specific messages that don't need any spoken words. This book is fun, but unfortunately you cannot see the movement, which is essential to so many of these gestures. Thus, leaving many of them unusable.

I work with a lot of Italian people, and all of them except ONE thought this was hysterical. I also love how you can get your point across without speaking! The pictures were funny too. Also, the actual way to say the words are written phonetically so you can actually SPEAK the Italian phrase while you make the gestures. It's a good grab bag or joke gift, and not really politically incorrect.

Having several Italian friends in Italy and Switzerland, this book was a riot for them. With Italian and English captions for each photo, even Italians can get a kick out of this book. If you have any Italian background or friends, this is a must.

When I was 13 and went to Italy, my friends and I bought this book and used the gestures when we were there. The Italians thought it was so funny that we knew their regional gestures, and it was a lot of fun. It's also great to go to Italian restaurants in the US and tell the Italian chefs how much we liked our dinner with the 'molto bene' sign. Now I'm taking my kids to Italy so I ordered a fresh copy of the book. We've had a lot of laughs looking at the hand motions, and I know it will be fun to use them on our trip.

Classic book! It's hard for me to say if you will like it if you aren't Italian, but since I am Italiano and have a good sense of humor, I can't get enough of this book. Every time I want a laugh all I have to do is open this book up and take a glance. One of the greatest things about being Italian is that you can make fun of yourself and your Italian friends alike. It's not really picking on anyone, it's more of a way of saying "Hey! It's good to be Italiano... No? Va bene!" Although I mastered the art of speaking without words at a very early age (raised under an Italian roof, this is a survival skill) I already know the poses and what they mean... still, why are they still so funny to me? If you have an Itailan friend who needs a laugh, or maybe you just want to poke some fun at them (but be careful here, non-Italians are not allowed to go too far) give them this book, sit down after dinner with a bowl of walnuts and some demitazza and have a blast! (If you are a true Italian you'll get what I mean about the walnuts and demitazza. Mangia! Molta Bella!)

I've been giving this book as a gift to my Italian friends for years, and it's always a hit.

I have bought several of these books for my Italian friends. Lots of laughs. Enjoy!