7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Switzerland as you've never seen it before, June 23, 2010
This review is from: Swiss Watching: Inside Europe's Landlocked Island (Paperback)
As someone who has lived in Switzerland quite recently I would recommend `Swisswatching' highly to anyone moving there or simply visiting the country. Bewes' book gets under the skin of the experience of being a foreigner in Switzerland and does it with a great sense of fun. It also gives an excellent and informed view of the Swiss as a nation and proves beyond doubt that, despite having four cultural and language groups within its borders, there is such a thing as Swissness. Most importantly, the book takes a superb look at the regions of Switzerland, some of which may be well known but most of which will be new to all but the most experienced traveller. It looks at the products we all recognise as Swiss and the figures we may currently be unaware of and tells the story of a country through their histories. Above all this is a thoroughly enjoyable, amusing and entertaining read for anyone with even a passing interest in travel.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved it!, June 12, 2010
This review is from: Swiss Watching: Inside Europe's Landlocked Island (Paperback)
This is such a great read, whether or not you are planning to visit Switzerland. If you are, then take this with you because, even though it's not a guide book, you'll end up wanting to visit all the places he mentions! If you're not going there, you'll soon want to once you've read it!! Swisswatching is informative, interesting, honest and funny. Diccon Bewes has researched it well and added in his excellent observations from living as an expat in Switzerland. If you like Bill Bryson you'll love this! I couldn't put it down and can't wait for his next book! The great thing is that you can also make comments and ask him questions via his blog ([...]) and he actually answers!! Plus each new blog entry adds more funny observations about the country that aren't in his book. What more could you want?
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Only Now Do I Truly Know The Swiss, December 30, 2010
This review is from: Swiss Watching: Inside Europe's Landlocked Island (Paperback)
Diccon Bewes' penetrating insights into the Swiss psyche makes Swiss Watching a book about Switzerland like no other.
I'm married to a Swiss and have visited Switzerland -from Australia- more than twenty times.
In my quest to acquaint myself better with this fascinating country I've read many books and guides, including a couple of very good ones.
But here we have something very, very special.
Swiss Watching is utterly absorbing and brilliantly written.
In his unique and engaging style Diccon Bewes zeroes in on the Switzerland we don't really know, the one that's hidden behind all those majestic peaks, quaint chalets, well-fed cows and the chocolate, cheese and precision watches.
The book is a comprehensive and very fair account of all things Swiss -especially the people- and the author's sharp and perceptive observations cut through to the very core of the national mentality.
Want a book about Switzerland full of gushy prose extolling the country's numerous virtues?...dozens of such books exist, have been around for a hundred years and may be found in the travel section of bookshops the world over.
Prefer a no-holds-barred, balanced treatise that will accurately reveal the Swiss to you in a way you never thought possible?...this is THE book.
For author Diccon Bewes, researching and then writing Swiss Watching has clearly been a labour of love; he is to be heartily congratulated for producing such an outstanding and seminal work in which he truly has nailed the Swiss like no-one has before.
As it's right up there with the most enjoyable and informative books I've ever read I simply can't recommend this wonderful book highly enough.
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