Swiss Without Halos

by J. Christopher Herold

Unbiased account of the Swiss people, their history and customs, their literature, art and science, religious turmoil and economic problems.

271 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

J. Christopher Herold (1919-December 10, 1964) was born in Czechoslova­kia of Austrian parents. The family moved to Germany in 1939, and shortly afterwards Herold emigrated to the United States.

Herold received a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Columbia University. Fluent in 6 languages, he served with Army intelligence in World War II. After the war, he became assistant editor at Columbia University Press, and later editor-in-chief at the Stanford University Press.

Herold wrote a number of books on European history, such as “The Swiss Without Halos” (1948), “Joan, Maid of France” (1952), “The Mind of Napoleon” (1955), and “Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame de Staël” (1958).

Herald died in New York at the age of 45.

Reviews

[Fiona Hurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up in a second-hand book shop because I have family in Switzerland and have visited the country several times. It turned out to be an interesting look at Swiss history, kept very readable by the author's dry wit.
Orson Welles was wrong; the Swiss didn't have "500 years of democracy and peace" and they achieved a great deal more than the cuckoo clock. Characters like Calvin and Voltaire pop up, but mostly this is the story of ordinary people who created one of the world's richest economies despite an unforgiving landscape and threatening neighbors.
There are just occasional reminders that this book was published in 1948: references to "the recent war" and a nod to the fact that Swiss women didn't yet have the vote (which they got shocking late in 1971).

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historian J. Christopher Herold published The Swiss Without Halos in 1948. The book has illustrations and maps. The book has two appendixes. The first appendix has selected passages from the Federal Constitution of Switzerland. The second appendix is an economic table of Switzerland. The book has a selected bibliography. Switzerland has changed a lot since 1948. The Goodreads reviewer Fiona Huxley writes women in Switzerland “got the right to vote in 1971.” The book has many references to World War II. Herold’s introduction to Switzerland is a well-done older introduction to Switzerland. Herold admires the Swiss people. The book's title comes from Herold's belief that some people admire the Swiss too much. The book is readable. A significant focus of the book is how the Swiss built a robust economy. The country still had a large agricultural sector in 1948. The book focuses on many key figures in Switzerland, but the Goodreads reviewer Huxley is right that Herold is skilled at focusing on ordinary Swiss people. Herold shows the complexity of Swiss history, culture, economy, geography, language, and other aspects of Swiss culture up to 1948. I believe that Herold’s book fulfills the book's stated goal of showing Switzerland in all the complexity of the country. I found the Goodreads reviewer Fiona Huxley’s review helpful in this ‘review.’
Works Cited:
Herold, J. Christopher. 2016. Halstad, Minnesota: Pickle Partners Publishing. Kindle.