The Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss (Xenophobe's Guides - Oval Books) [Paperback]

Paul Bilton (Author)

Book Description

Series: Xenophobe's Guides - Oval Books | Publication Date: March 1999

Highlights the unique character and behavior of the nation. Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The opening paragraphs of a Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss set the tone for the rest of an irreverent, amusing and highly informative portrait of the Swiss people."
--Arts & Culture section at www.swissinfo.org

"An enlightened new series, good natured, witty and useful. The Xenophobe's Guides to different nations deserves a real cheer."
--The European

From the Back Cover

'The diversity of the Swiss is apparent in the degree to which they worry. The German-speakers do little else. The French-speaking Swiss are great visionaries and philosophers with noble thoughts and global dreams. They worry that their Swiss-German compatriots do not share these dreams.
The Italian-speaking Swiss have a terrible tendency not to worry nearly enough.'
Xenophobia is an irrational fear of foreigners, probably justified, always understandable.
Xenophobe's Guides - an irreverent look at the beliefs and foibles of nations, almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia. (4 1/4 x 7, 64 pages)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Oval Books; 1st edition (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1902825454
• ISBN-13: 978-1902825458
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,099,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and very insightful guide to the Swiss, June 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss (Paperback)

I work in the U.S. for the Swiss. This little book (you can read it in an hour or two) is very funny and fun to read. At the same time, it is amazingly insightful with regards to Swiss culture, customs and people. I sometimes give it to others doing business with the Swiss. On the whole, it paints the Swiss in a positive light, but also offers up good fodder for ribbing my Swiss colleagues. For a more serious and scholarly treatment of the Swiss, check out Steinberg's "Why Switzerland".

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A funny tongue "firmly" in cheek little gem..., May 16, 2005

By 

K. Vuille - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss (Xenophobe's Guides - Oval Books) (Paperback)

This book is laugh out loud funny and has many truths, though the Swiss may not want to admit it. All countries have their quirks and Switzerland is not immune either. A a Swiss dual national married to a Swiss, I heard about all these little quirks that all cultures and countries have and always teased my spouse that he was exaggerating regarding Switzerland. Then I spent time in the country and just recently I experienced the "self sustaining bureacracy" at work when the Swiss Govt. charged me $50 for a very fancy piece of paper to tell me what my address is, the state in the US I was born, the date when I got married and who my parents are-that's it, no really that's all it says-nothing more. I am convinced that the $50 was to pay for the fancy paper-that's how fancy it really is. So as the author himself notes on this very subject of family papers...I guess it's in case I forget these facts about myself. Needless to say I howled over this.

Read this book with humor and take into account that it isn't a traditional travel book nor an ultra accurate account on Swiss manufacturing and tourism or the countries stats. But there are some real truths here relayed with great wit. The author himself is Brit married to a Swiss and has made some genuinely funny observations on Swiss culture. I finished reading this book thinking the author genuinely loves and respects his adopted country, but gosh they do some funny things sometimes. A little joshing and humor never hurt anyone-even the staunch Swiss. We should always be able to laugh at ourselves and that's what this book sets out to do, and to my thinking, it succeeded.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just yodelling, April 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss (Xenophobe's Guides - Oval Books) (Paperback)

This is really not a guide book in the traditional sense. That is, you can't find out where to get a decent hotel, day excursion, or meal in Switzerland by reading this book. Rather Bilton, an Englishman, comments on the culture he learned after marrying a Swiss woman and living in her country for the last 10 years or so. His insights into the Swiss people, particularly their attitudes, behaviors, and societal structure are insightful and often hilarious. Switzerland is surprisingly diverse and too often overlooked by those studying European history and culture. It's easy to not look beyond the image of banks, watches, and chocolates to get to know the people behind the stereotypes. This witty book cuts to the chase and is at times quite irreverant, though certainly not offensive. It's one thing to eat rösti. It's another to understand the röstigraben. This book explains both.

Like the author, I too am married to a Swiss woman and read this book prior to a two-month trip to Zurich to study German and learn more about my wife's parent culture. I found this little book a surprising and entertaining resource. Time and time again, I found my experiences meeting and getting to know the Swiss strangely reminiscent of the pages of this book. I even loaned it to Swiss friends who concurred that its observations was right on the money. So I read the book again at the conclusion of the trip--and laughed aloud even more the second time. It's a quick read, for more detailed insights from Bilton, see his diary "the Perpetual Tourist", which covers similar ground.