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La Place de la Concorde Suisse
Anyone who has ever traveled in Switzerland cannot help but to have remarked upon the overwhelming tranquility of the country. But this tranquility is illusory. As John McPhee writes in La Place de la Concorde Suisse, a rich journalistic study of the Swiss Army's role in Swiss society, "there is scarcely a scene in Switzerland that is not ready to erupt in fire to repel an invasive war." With a population smaller than New Jersey's, Switzerland has a standing army of 650,000 ready to be mobilized in less than 48 hours. The Swiss Army, known in this country chiefly for its little red pocketknives, is so quietly efficient at the arts of war that the Israelis carefully patterned their own military on the Swiss model. You'll understand why after reading this outstanding book.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
59 people are currently reading
932 people want to read
About the author
John McPhee
132 books1,867 followersJohn Angus McPhee is an American writer. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the fourth occasion in 1999 for Annals of the Former World (a collection of five books, including two of his previous Pulitzer finalists). In 2008, he received the George Polk Career Award for his "indelible mark on American journalism during his nearly half-century career". Since 1974, McPhee has been the Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
July 20, 2014
Sometimes, you get a miraculous chance to have your cake and eat it too. My personal high-water mark is Jacques Rivette's La Belle Noiseuse, a French arthouse movie with impeccable credentials that just happened to show Emmanuelle Béart nude for about half of its 228 running minutes. (It's completely justified, given that the story is about the relationship between the artist and his model. Anything else would have been dishonest, don't you see?) But if you're a left-leaning person who also likes guns, this book may go one better. McPhee, an American journalist with a talent for finding good stories, describes a society based on unexceptionable ideals of peace and neutrality, which has pursued them so successfully that it hasn't been involved in a war with another country since 1516. He then spends the book arguing, with considerable plausibility, that Switzerland has only been able to afford such highflown ideals by developing an extraordinarily ferocious part-time militia and arming itself to the teeth.
It's depressing news if you believe in turning the other cheek. But if you're more a believer into doing unto others as they would do unto you but doing it first, you're going to like his message. McPhee has had a fine time as an observer with the Swiss Army, and tells you all about the ingenious ways in which the Swiss have learned to use their country's unusual topography to maximal advantage. The Alps, all on their own, form a brilliant first line of defence; there are only a few ways into Switzerland from most directions, and all the passes, tunnels and bridges are mined so that they can be blown to pieces at the touch of a button. There are supposed to be concealed military facilities everywhere, most of them buried in those same mountains. If we're to believe what he's telling us, your average blank Swiss rock face has at least a couple of camouflaged doors, which can be hiding anything from entrances to subterranean hospitals, to heavy artillery, to state-of-the-art fighter-bombers. And all deployable at a moment's notice.
I admit to a mean-spirited inner voice that's urging me to be skeptical. All of this is supposed to be classified, it says, so maybe his figures are inflated; he seems to have got very friendly with his hosts, and as far as I can see takes everything they tell him at face value. Maybe they thought he'd be a handy conduit for some pro-Swiss propaganda. But I'm ordering Doubting Thomas to keep his mouth shut. A politically correct version of Team America: World Police with better hardware: how can you resist that? I hope every word of it is true.
It's depressing news if you believe in turning the other cheek. But if you're more a believer into doing unto others as they would do unto you but doing it first, you're going to like his message. McPhee has had a fine time as an observer with the Swiss Army, and tells you all about the ingenious ways in which the Swiss have learned to use their country's unusual topography to maximal advantage. The Alps, all on their own, form a brilliant first line of defence; there are only a few ways into Switzerland from most directions, and all the passes, tunnels and bridges are mined so that they can be blown to pieces at the touch of a button. There are supposed to be concealed military facilities everywhere, most of them buried in those same mountains. If we're to believe what he's telling us, your average blank Swiss rock face has at least a couple of camouflaged doors, which can be hiding anything from entrances to subterranean hospitals, to heavy artillery, to state-of-the-art fighter-bombers. And all deployable at a moment's notice.
I admit to a mean-spirited inner voice that's urging me to be skeptical. All of this is supposed to be classified, it says, so maybe his figures are inflated; he seems to have got very friendly with his hosts, and as far as I can see takes everything they tell him at face value. Maybe they thought he'd be a handy conduit for some pro-Swiss propaganda. But I'm ordering Doubting Thomas to keep his mouth shut. A politically correct version of Team America: World Police with better hardware: how can you resist that? I hope every word of it is true.
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March 2, 2017A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Awkward English at best, arguably not even a real sentence, something perhaps emanating from the quill of Henry James, the Second Amendment has proved to be a challenge to those charged with interpreting it and a slippery opportunity for those seeking to exploit it. For a couple of hundred years the United States Supreme Court gave full measure to the first thirteen words until rather recently, to achieve the opposite result, it didn’t.
I bring this up not to be provocative or even smarmy but because reading this book reminded me that in the United States we don’t have militias anymore nor – and here I am being smarmy – the excuse of a militia. But in Switzerland – in Switzerland the whole country is a militia.
By its Constitution and legislation Switzerland is prohibited from invading other countries but everyone – all males anyhow – must defend its borders. At the time of this book, 650,000 men were in the Swiss Army. And that’s in peacetime. Then again, it’s always peacetime in Switzerland. They give laurels to Generals when there is no war.
The army trains. Officers leave boardrooms; soldiers leave their farms, their lathes, their students. And they train with live bullets, live bombs. There are six hundred thousand assault rifles in Swiss homes.
My point being the Second Amendment would make sense in Switzerland where unlike us, forgive the repetition, they have a militia.
They have a lot of wine in Switzerland, too, and like their military, they do not export. Switzerland produces about a hundred million litres a year, and consumes virtually all of it. Moreover, Switzerland imports two-thirds of what it drinks. Switzerland imports more Beaujolais than is imported by the United States.
It was interesting learning about Switzerland in the Second World War. For instance:
After France surrendered, the German military attaché sought out Jakob Huber, the Swiss chief of the general staff, and made it clear that he felt the time had come for Switzerland to open its doors and welcome a German Europe. There was a six-decilitre pause. Huber studied the attaché and said, “No one comes through here.”
And this:
A German plane carrying an experimental package of supersecret radar made an unintentional landing near Zurich, possibly guided by the supersecret radar. The Swiss seized the radar and hid it in an alp. The Nazis threatened invasion. The Swiss offered a deal. They brought the radar out of the alp and destroyed it in the presence of German witnesses in return for a dozen fighter planes, on which the iron crosses were painted white.
Albert Einstein, by the way, was rejected by the regular army because of varicose veins and flat feet. But, he had to serve otherwise, in the Service Complémentaire.
When I read John McPhee I get transported, so that I want to drive a hazmat truck, want to build a canoe out of a tree, want to vacation on a Hebridean island, want to fish for shad. I really enjoyed La Place de la Concorde Suisse, learned a lot, was amused, but I have no desire to join the Swiss Army.
Awkward English at best, arguably not even a real sentence, something perhaps emanating from the quill of Henry James, the Second Amendment has proved to be a challenge to those charged with interpreting it and a slippery opportunity for those seeking to exploit it. For a couple of hundred years the United States Supreme Court gave full measure to the first thirteen words until rather recently, to achieve the opposite result, it didn’t.
I bring this up not to be provocative or even smarmy but because reading this book reminded me that in the United States we don’t have militias anymore nor – and here I am being smarmy – the excuse of a militia. But in Switzerland – in Switzerland the whole country is a militia.
By its Constitution and legislation Switzerland is prohibited from invading other countries but everyone – all males anyhow – must defend its borders. At the time of this book, 650,000 men were in the Swiss Army. And that’s in peacetime. Then again, it’s always peacetime in Switzerland. They give laurels to Generals when there is no war.
The army trains. Officers leave boardrooms; soldiers leave their farms, their lathes, their students. And they train with live bullets, live bombs. There are six hundred thousand assault rifles in Swiss homes.
My point being the Second Amendment would make sense in Switzerland where unlike us, forgive the repetition, they have a militia.
They have a lot of wine in Switzerland, too, and like their military, they do not export. Switzerland produces about a hundred million litres a year, and consumes virtually all of it. Moreover, Switzerland imports two-thirds of what it drinks. Switzerland imports more Beaujolais than is imported by the United States.
It was interesting learning about Switzerland in the Second World War. For instance:
After France surrendered, the German military attaché sought out Jakob Huber, the Swiss chief of the general staff, and made it clear that he felt the time had come for Switzerland to open its doors and welcome a German Europe. There was a six-decilitre pause. Huber studied the attaché and said, “No one comes through here.”
And this:
A German plane carrying an experimental package of supersecret radar made an unintentional landing near Zurich, possibly guided by the supersecret radar. The Swiss seized the radar and hid it in an alp. The Nazis threatened invasion. The Swiss offered a deal. They brought the radar out of the alp and destroyed it in the presence of German witnesses in return for a dozen fighter planes, on which the iron crosses were painted white.
Albert Einstein, by the way, was rejected by the regular army because of varicose veins and flat feet. But, he had to serve otherwise, in the Service Complémentaire.
When I read John McPhee I get transported, so that I want to drive a hazmat truck, want to build a canoe out of a tree, want to vacation on a Hebridean island, want to fish for shad. I really enjoyed La Place de la Concorde Suisse, learned a lot, was amused, but I have no desire to join the Swiss Army.
Read
July 19, 2014When an English friend here in Geneva said he buys up all the copies of this he can find, I broke the habit of a lifetime and asked if I could borrow it. I'd recently been discovering the ferocious history of the Swiss Army which I guess is one of the factors that still has its influence. Another is that the people are the army, the army the people. Eye-opening for me - though I guess it is blindingly obvious if I'd ever stopped to think - is that neutrality isn't a moral position, it's a function of possibility, at least in the Swiss case. Both the people and the landscape of Switzerland bristle with what is needed to defend neutrality. I knew that modern buildings here are all built with nuclear bomb shelters, but I had no idea how much of the countryside has massive support structures and escape mechanisms underground, including hospitals. I had no idea that it is common for mountains in Switzerland to be effectively hollow inside, with plastic granite blocks fitted into the sides of mountains, camouflaged entries into these secret areas.
Rest here:
http://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpres...
Rest here:
http://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpres...
May 29, 2018
This is the most lighthearted of McPhee's ouevre -- perhaps his only book where he is so often going for laughs.
If you are unfamiliar with John McPhee, this might be a great place to start. This is one of his shortest books, and definitely the lightest. His choice to explain the Swiss army by hanging around a group of low-ranking, poorly-performing soldiers turns out to have brilliant, as it gives him ample opportunity to both explain and skewer the institution. That said, he comes across as a clear admirer of the Swiss and their approach to foreign policy, which he describes as the 'porcupine principle' -- roll up and brandish your quills in response to any threat.
I should think many of the details of the book are by now out of date, but it's an immensely enjoyable read.
If you are unfamiliar with John McPhee, this might be a great place to start. This is one of his shortest books, and definitely the lightest. His choice to explain the Swiss army by hanging around a group of low-ranking, poorly-performing soldiers turns out to have brilliant, as it gives him ample opportunity to both explain and skewer the institution. That said, he comes across as a clear admirer of the Swiss and their approach to foreign policy, which he describes as the 'porcupine principle' -- roll up and brandish your quills in response to any threat.
I should think many of the details of the book are by now out of date, but it's an immensely enjoyable read.
November 20, 2025
Impresjonistyczny obraz zmilitaryzowanej Szwajcarii lat osiemdziesiątych - w takim zdaniu można zamknąć całość. Dużo powtórzeń tych samych fraz i obrazów, lekkie zarysowanie zróżnicowania społeczeństwa pod kątem odmiennego podejścia do armii, wojny i obrony. Zewsząd wyziera praktyczność Szwajcarów, przywiązanie do tradycji, ale czasem i rozwarstwienie względem wartości i statusu społecznego. Ciekawy byłby aneks po 2022, co prawda musiałby być innego autora (John McPhee ma już na karku dziewięćdziesiątkę), wystarczyć musi przedmowa Zbigniewa Parafianowicza, ale ona uwzględnia tylko kontekst wojny, a nie zmian społecznych w samej Szwajcarii - imigranci stanowią 1/4 mieszkańców, a tło migranckie przedstawia 40%. Gdy McPhee przebywał w Szwajcarii (~1984) migrantów było około 15%. Inne kultury, inna mentalność - ciekawe byłoby takie uzupełnienie.
Trochę za długie (a ma tylko ~150 stron!) w stosunku do tego co oferuje. Być może stanowiłoby większą wartość dla kogoś w ogóle nieznającego Szwajcarii, tylko nie wiem czy ktoś taki w ogóle sięgałby po ten reportaż.
Trochę za długie (a ma tylko ~150 stron!) w stosunku do tego co oferuje. Być może stanowiłoby większą wartość dla kogoś w ogóle nieznającego Szwajcarii, tylko nie wiem czy ktoś taki w ogóle sięgałby po ten reportaż.
September 28, 2012
I begin to see why The Quiet Man loves John McPhee so much- the man is amazing, plain and simple and is fast becoming one of my favorite writers. While Encounters With The Arch Druid was a fascinating look at the impact of development on the unspoiled wildernesses of America, La Place de La Concorde Suisse plunges the reader into the fascinating world of Switzerland- and their army.
When one thinks of Switzerland, you don't really think of it as being an overly militaristic place. Dodgy banking regulations, excellent cheese and chocolate, crazy good watches and that fantastically neon currency of theirs, yes- but military prowess? Military power? Not so much.
And that's precisely the way the Swiss like it. McPhee tags along with a variety of citizen soldiers (as all Swiss Citizens have to do stints in the army) and explores the origins of the Swiss Army, how it came to be so important and such a vital party of the national fabric of Switzerland and slowly reveals just how expensive and costly an attempt to conquer Switzerland might be for someone.
Basically, the Swiss became the best soldiers because they had to be. Sitting in the middle of Europe they've had various hungry empires, Emperors and countries eye them up from time to time so defense of the Cantons that make up the Swiss Confederation became extremely important. They quickly developed a reputation as being the best mercenaries in Europe (because if you don't have a lot of fighting to do at home, you might as well get lots of practice abroad...) and the Vatican picked up some Swiss Mercenaries a few centuries back and has kept them- go to the Vatican and you'll see the famous Swiss Guards there to this day.
(Interesting bit of legal chicanery I didn't know: all Swiss mercenaries apparently had a loophole in their contracts- if Switzerland was attacked, they went home automatically to defend it. So as many countries came to rely on and use Swiss mercenaries frequently, the idea of attacking the place could kind of screw one over, depending on how many Swiss mercenaries you used.)
The entire Swiss military philosophy has been built around the idea of convincing various power-hungry countries that invading Switzerland would be so costly in terms of money and blood that it just isn't worth it. The geography helps a lot- as who wants to try and get an army through the Alps? But the fanatical devotion to the preservation of country and the sheer amount of practice means that the Swiss as a nation are very well trained (in as close to live-fire conditions as they can manage) and have obssessively planned for every possible eventuality. It also helps that their entire infrastructure is wired to blow in the event of an invasion- from chunks of bridges designed to collapse to rockslides waiting to be triggered to airstrips high in the Alps- they're ready for anything.
True story: my Godparents live in Switzerland not far from Geneva and in their basement is an honest to goodness nuclear fallout shelter. All Swiss houses have them- and McPhee hints that there are probably whole complexes buried beneath the Alps in case of nuclear war. If that happens someday- which I hope it doesn't- I have no doubt it'll be the Swiss that will be rebuilding civilization.
(Another thing I didn't know: Switzerland only appoints Generals in times of grave national Emergency- so far, there have been four of them.)
Overall: Fascinating, just fascinating- a portrait of a country so devoted to preserving it's neutrality and protecting its own that it's one of the most quietly militarized societies on Earth. McPhee does it again- I felt like I was reading a novel packed to the brim with delicious knowledge cookies. McPhee wrote my face off- and yes, I do want to read more of him. If you haven't read this brilliant writer yet, you don't know what you're missing.
When one thinks of Switzerland, you don't really think of it as being an overly militaristic place. Dodgy banking regulations, excellent cheese and chocolate, crazy good watches and that fantastically neon currency of theirs, yes- but military prowess? Military power? Not so much.
And that's precisely the way the Swiss like it. McPhee tags along with a variety of citizen soldiers (as all Swiss Citizens have to do stints in the army) and explores the origins of the Swiss Army, how it came to be so important and such a vital party of the national fabric of Switzerland and slowly reveals just how expensive and costly an attempt to conquer Switzerland might be for someone.
Basically, the Swiss became the best soldiers because they had to be. Sitting in the middle of Europe they've had various hungry empires, Emperors and countries eye them up from time to time so defense of the Cantons that make up the Swiss Confederation became extremely important. They quickly developed a reputation as being the best mercenaries in Europe (because if you don't have a lot of fighting to do at home, you might as well get lots of practice abroad...) and the Vatican picked up some Swiss Mercenaries a few centuries back and has kept them- go to the Vatican and you'll see the famous Swiss Guards there to this day.
(Interesting bit of legal chicanery I didn't know: all Swiss mercenaries apparently had a loophole in their contracts- if Switzerland was attacked, they went home automatically to defend it. So as many countries came to rely on and use Swiss mercenaries frequently, the idea of attacking the place could kind of screw one over, depending on how many Swiss mercenaries you used.)
The entire Swiss military philosophy has been built around the idea of convincing various power-hungry countries that invading Switzerland would be so costly in terms of money and blood that it just isn't worth it. The geography helps a lot- as who wants to try and get an army through the Alps? But the fanatical devotion to the preservation of country and the sheer amount of practice means that the Swiss as a nation are very well trained (in as close to live-fire conditions as they can manage) and have obssessively planned for every possible eventuality. It also helps that their entire infrastructure is wired to blow in the event of an invasion- from chunks of bridges designed to collapse to rockslides waiting to be triggered to airstrips high in the Alps- they're ready for anything.
True story: my Godparents live in Switzerland not far from Geneva and in their basement is an honest to goodness nuclear fallout shelter. All Swiss houses have them- and McPhee hints that there are probably whole complexes buried beneath the Alps in case of nuclear war. If that happens someday- which I hope it doesn't- I have no doubt it'll be the Swiss that will be rebuilding civilization.
(Another thing I didn't know: Switzerland only appoints Generals in times of grave national Emergency- so far, there have been four of them.)
Overall: Fascinating, just fascinating- a portrait of a country so devoted to preserving it's neutrality and protecting its own that it's one of the most quietly militarized societies on Earth. McPhee does it again- I felt like I was reading a novel packed to the brim with delicious knowledge cookies. McPhee wrote my face off- and yes, I do want to read more of him. If you haven't read this brilliant writer yet, you don't know what you're missing.
March 14, 2008
Long before the phenomenal success of books like "Longitude" and "Cod", John McPhee perfected the art of the 'single topic in depth' book, in many cases expanding on his trademark (long) New Yorker essays. In "La Place de la Concorde Suisse", he digs below the picture-postcard prettiness and deceptive blandness of Switzerland and its people to deliver a fascinating (and slightly sinister) portrait of the Swiss Army.
One of his most interesting books, written before he gave himself over to the fascination with geology that has inspired many of his more recent efforts.
To say that McPhee writes well is a gross understatement. He is the literary father of Malcolm Gladwell, with the same characteristic ability to take an apparently abstruse topic and write about it with extraordinary lucidity, weaving a fascinating story that draws the reader in and holds the attention right to the end.
If you haven't read any of McPhee's work, this would a good book to start with. Other favorites of mine include "The Crofter and the Laird", "The Headmaster", or either of the collections "Giving Good Weight" and "The John McPhee Reader".
One of his most interesting books, written before he gave himself over to the fascination with geology that has inspired many of his more recent efforts.
To say that McPhee writes well is a gross understatement. He is the literary father of Malcolm Gladwell, with the same characteristic ability to take an apparently abstruse topic and write about it with extraordinary lucidity, weaving a fascinating story that draws the reader in and holds the attention right to the end.
If you haven't read any of McPhee's work, this would a good book to start with. Other favorites of mine include "The Crofter and the Laird", "The Headmaster", or either of the collections "Giving Good Weight" and "The John McPhee Reader".
April 29, 2024
Very boringly written by McPhee, he seems more intent on romanticizing than questioning the Swiss military. Interestingly their 650K army has been reduced to 100K since when the book was written. I’m not sure I got anything out of this, except next time I’m in Switzerland I might look for plastic mountains.
September 6, 2014
John McPhee is my favorite writer, and with this, I've now read every single one of his books. All 31. I can't wait to read them all again.
October 9, 2025
This was my first McPhee book and I found his writing to be rich with imagery and language, somewhat Krakaueresque. I enjoyed how he shared insights into Swiss life and history through the lens of the Swiss army. I didn’t find the book to be overly compelling, but I suspect that is largely personal preference as McPhee is clearly a talented writer and storyteller. I look forward to checking out more of his work.
March 27, 2020
Actual rating: 2.5/5
Quite an interesting book to understand Swiss mentality through its army. The book was written in the 80's which means parts of the book is not up-to-date. The book already assumed a wide knowledge of the country and its customs, which makes it hard to read unless you are Swiss or live here for a couple of years. I wouldn't recommend this book to most people.
Quite an interesting book to understand Swiss mentality through its army. The book was written in the 80's which means parts of the book is not up-to-date. The book already assumed a wide knowledge of the country and its customs, which makes it hard to read unless you are Swiss or live here for a couple of years. I wouldn't recommend this book to most people.
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September 9, 2022Hard book to rate because it is so odd, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Would love to read a modern review that touches on what has (or hasn’t) changed in the Swiss army since it was written; I suspect some parts are timeless but others very dated now.
April 24, 2025
A delightful book and a short read. McPhee provides an insightful perspective on Swiss history and culture through amusing anecdotes of real people just living life in a manner that is normal for their country and endlessly fascinating to me.
December 28, 2014
As a New Yorker staff writer, McPhee’s written many classics of long-form journalism, which I have been slowly trying to get through over the years. Fortunately, one of my customers this summer was married to a man who had just written his PhD thesis on McPhee, and who was looking to unload some trade paperback copies of McPhee’s books before moving to a new university, giving me the chance to check a few articles off my list. This book is about Switzerland, the “Army with a Country,” which has hidden guns covering every strategic corner, has every bridge and tunnel rigged to blow up, has massive basses hidden within mountains, and which calls back all citizens, from plumbers in Germany to CEOs in New York, back every year to train. Interestingly, while all Swiss are required to keep a gun at home after finishing their time as conscripts, using the guns is strictly forbidden. Much of this book/piece consists of McPhee walking around Switzerland with a Franchoponic reconnaissance patrol consisting of reservist troublemakers (the NCO is a vintner who meant to pull a practice grenade off his superior’s tunic, but accidentally left the pin attached to the tunic), who report on the transportation capability of various roads, bridges, and hidden passages. In the memorable final scene, the patrol climbs a mountain while reporting on a faux Soviet attack (when this book as written, in the 80s, the Warsaw Pact was seen as the only true possible enemy), while stopping for drinks and snacks. At the very end, the patrol, which is ostensibly standing in a field, but really drinking in a summit bar (the farmers sitting nearby are making mooing sounds), reports the detonation of a “petit bombe atomique.”
December 30, 2014
Hysterical, lighthearted, and beautifully written, but If you're like me you'll feel like a lot of the jokes go over your head because they're over your tax bracket.
September 23, 2015
un acuto giornalista americano ha scritto questo spassosissimo saggio dal quale si capisce perchè la svizzera è la svizzera.
July 30, 2023
"In the Swiss Romande, we say, 'Why do we go to the army, anyway? There are always enough Swiss Germans to defend us.'"
- John McPhee, La Place de la Concorde Suisse
An enjoyable read. John McPhee delivers a tour of the Swiss Army, full of its contradictions. At once fierce and ever vigilant, it also has (or had, I'm not sure what the current status of the Swiss Army is) its own share of malingering "volunteers." The army is huge, at the writing of this book it was supposed to be 450,000 Swiss nationals serving in the Army. Don't confuse neutral with peaceful. The Swiss spend a lot of capital keeping their country out of the hands of the stray Italian or German fascist.
The book made me think a bit about the different approaches of the Swiss and the Americans to military preparedness. Americans spend an ungodly amount of money on our military for equipment, bases, and personnel (and money taking care of veterans of our many, many military adventures overseas). The Swiss spend money, certainly, but they are a bit like the Marines. They will gladly fly and older plane that gets the job done, keep it going, and spend the money on bullets. Where the Swiss are unique is the amount of time many of the people spend. Most of the civilian army spends at LEAST 1 month a year doing Army stuff. Those of higher rank, might spend a lot more time. That is a cost that can't be under appreciated.
That bleeds into the other dynamic that separates the Swiss form of defense from the American: class and influence. The Swiss Army is Switzerland. Rank in the military influences jobs in the civilian world and vice versa. As much as they might want to paint it a bit milder, the Swiss Army is VERY class conscious. The American military, since it is largely a full-time, volunteer army, depends a lot of the lower class to fill its enlisted ranks. At the top, you also start to see a big cross-over between higher ranks and the corporate world. 3 and 4 star generals retire into jobs at Military Defense companies, and often sit on corporate boards. The difference with the Swiss is this happening at the same time.
The first part of this book (first 90 pages) appeared in the October 31, 1983 edition (Under Reporter at Large) of the New Yorker. The final part of this book (last 60 pages) appeared in the November 7, 1983 edition of the New Yorker.
- John McPhee, La Place de la Concorde Suisse
An enjoyable read. John McPhee delivers a tour of the Swiss Army, full of its contradictions. At once fierce and ever vigilant, it also has (or had, I'm not sure what the current status of the Swiss Army is) its own share of malingering "volunteers." The army is huge, at the writing of this book it was supposed to be 450,000 Swiss nationals serving in the Army. Don't confuse neutral with peaceful. The Swiss spend a lot of capital keeping their country out of the hands of the stray Italian or German fascist.
The book made me think a bit about the different approaches of the Swiss and the Americans to military preparedness. Americans spend an ungodly amount of money on our military for equipment, bases, and personnel (and money taking care of veterans of our many, many military adventures overseas). The Swiss spend money, certainly, but they are a bit like the Marines. They will gladly fly and older plane that gets the job done, keep it going, and spend the money on bullets. Where the Swiss are unique is the amount of time many of the people spend. Most of the civilian army spends at LEAST 1 month a year doing Army stuff. Those of higher rank, might spend a lot more time. That is a cost that can't be under appreciated.
That bleeds into the other dynamic that separates the Swiss form of defense from the American: class and influence. The Swiss Army is Switzerland. Rank in the military influences jobs in the civilian world and vice versa. As much as they might want to paint it a bit milder, the Swiss Army is VERY class conscious. The American military, since it is largely a full-time, volunteer army, depends a lot of the lower class to fill its enlisted ranks. At the top, you also start to see a big cross-over between higher ranks and the corporate world. 3 and 4 star generals retire into jobs at Military Defense companies, and often sit on corporate boards. The difference with the Swiss is this happening at the same time.
The first part of this book (first 90 pages) appeared in the October 31, 1983 edition (Under Reporter at Large) of the New Yorker. The final part of this book (last 60 pages) appeared in the November 7, 1983 edition of the New Yorker.
November 27, 2025
I bought this on the recommendation of my favorite and most trusted bookseller, Mark, who claims that John McPhee is the greatest American nonfiction writer. I chose this book about the Swiss Army on a whim out of a stack of slim nonfiction works without any preexisting knowledge about the topic or much knowledge about Switzerland in general. I did find it an interesting read, just slightly impenetrable at times because of the abundance of French dialogue and Swiss and French names and just a lot of stuff I couldn't always understand. That being said, it was fascinating to learn more about what Swiss neutrality really entails, how the Swiss Army operates, and its history of neutrality during wartimes. I previously wanted to visit Switzerland for the beautiful views, but now I want to visit also to see the civilian Army in action and look for evidence of the infrastructure that would protect the entire country from an invasion on an incredibly impressive level. I would also be very interested to watch a documentary about this topic to better visualize what I was reading about.
The obvious comparison to make here is between John McPhee and Jon Krakauer, my personal favorite American nonfiction writer. Both seem to treat their research as immersive, which I really appreciate, and their first person writing can help personalize the topics. I've read much more Krakauer than McPhee, so I can't make any sweeping claims, but my initial impressions are that Krakauer is a much more accessible and pop-nonfiction author who chooses really interesting topics to really dig into and write decently long books about, while McPhee is more prolific, wide-ranging, and dense. I do look forward to reading more of his works, especially his most popular book about Alaska.
The obvious comparison to make here is between John McPhee and Jon Krakauer, my personal favorite American nonfiction writer. Both seem to treat their research as immersive, which I really appreciate, and their first person writing can help personalize the topics. I've read much more Krakauer than McPhee, so I can't make any sweeping claims, but my initial impressions are that Krakauer is a much more accessible and pop-nonfiction author who chooses really interesting topics to really dig into and write decently long books about, while McPhee is more prolific, wide-ranging, and dense. I do look forward to reading more of his works, especially his most popular book about Alaska.
March 9, 2023
Curioso e piacevole trattatello sull'esercito svizzero scritto da McPhee, famoso per il suo "Tennis". Il libro parte dalla tesi che la Svizzera sia una fortezza imprendibile perché il suo esercito è numerosissimo, di leva, ottimamente addestrato e motivato, e la conformazione del territorio è sfruttata al meglio. L'autore segue e intervista alcuni soldati che stanno eseguendo il servizio periodico, e ne approfitta per penetrare non solo nel rapporto degli svizzeri con l'esercito, ma anche nel loro carattere e il rapporto col loro paese.
Solo che, silenziosamente, la tesi viene smontata, sia da presupposti teorici (l'esercito si focalizza nella difesa delle montagne, ma il nucleo economico e popoloso del paese, l'area pianeggiante tra Basilea e Ginevra, è indifendibile) che storici (si racconta di come, nonostante il mito della neutralità, nella II guerra mondiale se la siano vista davvero brutta, ci siano stati combattimenti e bombardamenti, c'erano piani di invasione da Hitler ma anche dagli alleati, e i funambolismi diplomatici sono andati a volte bene per il rotto della cuffia).
Il libro è del 1983, da allora molte cose potrebbero essere cambiate, ma secondo me non molto: ogni maschio svizzero ha ancora il suo fucile d'assalto in cantina, e ogni ponte e tunnel strategico è tuttora minato. E anche il carattere degli svizzeri, questo popolo buffo e con un'identità unica, penso proprio che sia rimasto immutato.
Solo che, silenziosamente, la tesi viene smontata, sia da presupposti teorici (l'esercito si focalizza nella difesa delle montagne, ma il nucleo economico e popoloso del paese, l'area pianeggiante tra Basilea e Ginevra, è indifendibile) che storici (si racconta di come, nonostante il mito della neutralità, nella II guerra mondiale se la siano vista davvero brutta, ci siano stati combattimenti e bombardamenti, c'erano piani di invasione da Hitler ma anche dagli alleati, e i funambolismi diplomatici sono andati a volte bene per il rotto della cuffia).
Il libro è del 1983, da allora molte cose potrebbero essere cambiate, ma secondo me non molto: ogni maschio svizzero ha ancora il suo fucile d'assalto in cantina, e ogni ponte e tunnel strategico è tuttora minato. E anche il carattere degli svizzeri, questo popolo buffo e con un'identità unica, penso proprio che sia rimasto immutato.
January 4, 2017
This book was the result of a tour John McPhee made of Switzerland back in the day, following a band of Swiss men on their yearly volunteer service in the Swiss Army. It is amazing how much you can learn while being totally entertained by a piece of writing. I find that I often learn new facts from the books I read, whether I'm aware of it or not; the trouble is, with novels, you can never be entirely sure if a presented piece of information is actually true. Not so with nonfiction, and especially when it comes to John McPhee! On a visit to Switzerland a few years ago I asked a Swiss friend of mine if he knew that many of the bridges in his country were rigged to blow up in the event of an invasion. He didn't. But I sure did!
There are many remarkable elements to McPhee's writing. One that I think is under-appreciated is his humor. It is always delivered without drawing attention to itself in a way that makes you wonder if McPhee knows he is being funny (of course, though, he always knows). Take the following passage:
If you didn't crack a smile at that end of that, don't read this book. Watch "Grey's Anatomy" or something.
There are many remarkable elements to McPhee's writing. One that I think is under-appreciated is his humor. It is always delivered without drawing attention to itself in a way that makes you wonder if McPhee knows he is being funny (of course, though, he always knows). Take the following passage:
Hentsch belongs to one of the most august and ancient private-banking families in Geneva. On his own, he has become well known for his resourceful development of new accounts. He manages portfolios. He says that he is like a priest, in that he must know his customers well in order to serve them. Less than a week ago, he was in Portland, Maine, buying lobsters. Last year, he bought twenty-five thousand lobsters, importing them through Zurich into Sweden. Of service in the Swiss Army, he says, "It belongs to the passport." And apropos of nothing at all he adds, "We are nice people. Not everyone understands that."
If you didn't crack a smile at that end of that, don't read this book. Watch "Grey's Anatomy" or something.
December 23, 2024
Largely a reportage of McPhee’s embed with a Swiss Army infantry unit. Things done very very well are his descriptions of the men in the units, the mountainous and rural terrain, the urban terrain the Swiss Army plans to defend if they are ever invaded. Also good are the tangents he explores into the history of the Swiss Army’s development of its strategic goals: which is to protect Swiss neutrality by making any potential invader pay an unacceptably high price for invading Switzerland. Very well describes how an infantry squad can contain a Banker, Sommelier, Bricklayer, Farmer, Molecular Biologist and more. Surely a lesson that Americans need to re-learn.
Things not liked: too much focus on the goings on of a squad during maneuvers, not enough of the organization or history of the Swiss Army, not enough of how Swiss citizens feel about their forces (are they proud, regrets that Swiss soldiers aren’t paid more). One example is a officer pointing out that some young in the mid eighties suggested that Switzerland’s grand strategy should be to wage guerrilla warfare, but he correctly pointed out that such warfare is hard on the civilians. A fact that has been adequately demonstrated by Hamas in Gaza in 2023-2024.
Overall a good read for a military book club or any military professional.
Things not liked: too much focus on the goings on of a squad during maneuvers, not enough of the organization or history of the Swiss Army, not enough of how Swiss citizens feel about their forces (are they proud, regrets that Swiss soldiers aren’t paid more). One example is a officer pointing out that some young in the mid eighties suggested that Switzerland’s grand strategy should be to wage guerrilla warfare, but he correctly pointed out that such warfare is hard on the civilians. A fact that has been adequately demonstrated by Hamas in Gaza in 2023-2024.
Overall a good read for a military book club or any military professional.
January 3, 2023
It had been a while since I’d read any McPhee (who is somehow still alive as of August 2022), but what a pleasure to re-experience his writing style: a keen eye, apt descriptions, perfectly chosen adjectives, engrossing digressions, an unerring sentence rhythm, all adding up to the smoothest and most readable paragraphs in the world. He wrote this look at the unique place that the universal military has in Swiss society in 1984, so it’s a bit out of date, but when reading it’s easy to forget the time gap, since just as much of the page time is spent on the wonders of the Swiss mountains as on the lives of the citizen-soldiers he’s following around or the precise details of all the tricks and traps and contingency plans they’ve layered around the landscape. To be frank I will read him write about nearly anything, but the way he describes this living embodiment of the saying “an armed society is a polite society” will make you think a lot about the many parallels and divergences between Switzerland and other countries like the US, Israel, or other neighboring European countries who don’t quite have their acts together (there’s a lot of France jokes) in the same way. I would love an update.
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January 15, 2023When John McPhee picks a subject for a book, you can rest assured that he will cover that subject in detail. So, when John chooses to write about the Swiss Army, you know we're gonna learn lots. The Swiss Army is an all volunteer organization where all males between 18 and 25(26?) do a National Guard like duty so that they will be ready to defend their homeland from invasion. McPhee's picture is complete and detailed. We see that not all citizens take this seriously, and that the few that do make sure that their little corner of Switzerland is defended. Citizen/soldiers are assigned tasks in their home area-- defending passes and bridges, and preparing in some instances to raze those bridges to keep invaders at bay. This is a fascinating view of a unique method of homeland defense.
September 3, 2023
Timeless and fun, though it rambles a bit
John McPhee at his best is a wonderfully detailed observer of life's intriguing elements, both big and small. He's very much in his element with this account of the eccentricities and strengths of Switzerland's informal militia.
Lots of great eyewitness details. Much sympathy for the bankers, farmers and dental supply salesmen during their annual militia drills in the mountain.
That said, some 1980s anecdotes feel very dated. And the book was built as an extended version of a long-ago New Yorker article. In this full-length book, padding becomes an issue, as some sections rehash otherwise delightful points already made quite thoroughly 50 pages earlier.
John McPhee at his best is a wonderfully detailed observer of life's intriguing elements, both big and small. He's very much in his element with this account of the eccentricities and strengths of Switzerland's informal militia.
Lots of great eyewitness details. Much sympathy for the bankers, farmers and dental supply salesmen during their annual militia drills in the mountain.
That said, some 1980s anecdotes feel very dated. And the book was built as an extended version of a long-ago New Yorker article. In this full-length book, padding becomes an issue, as some sections rehash otherwise delightful points already made quite thoroughly 50 pages earlier.
November 21, 2017
A typically McPhee-ian account of the Swiss Army, which has managed to keep its country out of wars for at least the last 400 years--no mean feat when you consider that most of the neighboring countries have been at each other's throats for at least half of those 400 years (okay, it's a rough estimate). Written with McPhee's usual bone-dry humor and laced with the kinds of McPhee-style factoids that you can use to spice up a particularly dull Thanksgiving dinner, it's a provocative little book that actually makes you think about some things that you'd never really thought about thinking about before.
July 6, 2021
McPhee is the master of long-form journalism, and aspiring writers and reporters would do well to read everything he has written -- nearly three dozen books and counting. In this case, he takes us along on patrol with various units of the Swiss army, which hasn't fought a war in centuries, but is among the best-prepared fighting forces in the world. In the process, he gives us a portrait of Switzerland and its people. In fact, we learn that the Swiss people and the Swiss army are the same thing.
April 16, 2021
I always love a John McPhee book, even if it's about something I never had much interest in, like the Swiss Army. But somehow he manages to make anything fascinating, and I cam away from this book with unforeseen understanding of the Swiss and what it takes to maintain neutrality in a world such as this one.
August 25, 2019
Great book, very skillful writing. Its about the swiss army - an army so powerful its never been attacked. I never could decide if the story was true or fiction, or whether it was a little bit satire or dead serious. That made it a fun read. I recommend
April 18, 2024
Not my favorite McPhee, partly because the topic wasn't as interesting as I expected. It got a little repetitive and I didn't like how much untranslated dialogue he used. It felt like the army he described: always practicing but never going anywhere.
May 19, 2025
Bardzo rubasznie amerykańska książka. hehe Szwajcarzy nie przeżyją bez czekolady. hehe Szwajcarzy noszą amerykańskie ubrania. hehe armia pije mnóstwo alkoholu na służbie.
Poza tymi niedogodnościami znajdują się tu jednak ciekawe informacje.
Poza tymi niedogodnościami znajdują się tu jednak ciekawe informacje.
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