When in Germany, Do as the Germans Do: The Clued-In Guide to German Life, Language, and Culture

by Hyde Flippo

Never feel like a stranger in Germany again! On entering a restaurant, should you find your own table or wait to be seated? What is a suitable topic for small-talk with a stranger? In what circumstances might you ask to borrow ein Handy ? All these answers and more can be found in When in Germany, Do As the Germans Do , a fun and intriguing book that teaches you about Germany's culture, language, and people. It features 120 intriguing multiple-choice questions that are cross-referenced to fascinating articles on pop culture, customs, behavior, history, consumer trends, literature, tourist sights, business, language, and more. Also included are key terms and useful expressions, informative charts, and websites for further reference.

Genres: Travel, Germany, Nonfiction, German Literature, Reference

176 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2002

Reviews

[X · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I didn't check the publishing date before I bought it in May, 2009. This book needs some serious updating to get with the times for accuracy. Some of the articles are very informative, but others are just little curiosities about German life, instead of being really useful survival tips for understanding/living in Germany. Like the cowboys & indians bit, gee, just limit stuff like that to a bullet-point on a page of curiosities. Also, sometimes holidays are mentioned with zero explanation of who/what they honor & there's not enough info about what all the official German holidays are (needs a chronological listing of what takes place thru-out the year) & a short mention of what Germans do to celebrate these holidays (picnics, family visits, parades?). Would also like some lyrics to the top German drinking songs for Oktoberfest - could probably fit many on just a couple of pages. ; )

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this book 4 stars except that much of the information is outdated. I'd love to read an updated version.

[Tomislav · Rating 1 out of 5]

(found in a Little Free Library)

This guidebook gives a large number of forthright one-page descriptions of various aspects of contemporary life in Germany. It is written for Ausländer who might be moving to Germany or staying for an extended time. While well-intentioned and appropriately written to its purpose, it was published in 2002, soon after reunification, and is now quite out-of-date, especially with regards to things like telecommunications and politics. Still, certain cultural and linguistic topics are still relevant. Since there is a new edition (2018) available, this one should be totally deprecated. My rating of 1/5 is for this edition in particular.

[Maxwell L · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was perfect except that it was outdated. It was perfectly frank with what I have seen when I moved here. There were several facts about aspects of German culture that I never would have guessed were important to the society, like not drinking tap water, or going to see Shakespeare plays a lot. I am sure if Goodreads existed in 2002, when this was written, I would have given it six stars if I could.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought there was a lot of good information here for someone moving to or visiting Germany, or just interested in German culture. But then at some point I figured out the book was published many years ago (2002) and much of the information isn't current. I wish I had checked the published date before reading, and I'm surprised our bookstore is still stocking it.

[Ronald S. Beall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and well written, but it is 10 years old. A lot of things have changed. Still useful advice, though.

[Byron Despres-Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danke!

[Alfredo Acosta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usefull descriptions and specially local traditions like celebrating birthday

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Significantly outdated

[shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was insightful, applying it to my life in germany now though, i have to say it was a bit extreme/harsh about most situations. For instance it says a driver's liscence will cost about $2000. Well, it is a brief guide, but given I have a liscene and it's froma particular state, it's really only going to cost me $80 - and it's good for the rest of my life. i think that was a good thing though in my case, maybe it's making everything that more suprisingly pleasant for me! :)

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little book provides a brief overview of German culture. Some things I already knew but I was surprised to learn that in Germany and Austria, the birthday boy/girl has to throw the party and provide the cake, snacks, and drinks. Very different from the US/UK tradition. This book was published in 2002 so some topics are out of date (prices, technology, immigration, etc).

[Farnaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

really intresting and same as iranian!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting info, but in places barely scratches the surface. Also, technology (and some other info) seriously out of date.

[Cesar Guadarrama · Rating 3 out of 5]

It provides a good level of information, unfortunately there's no up to-date version of it