Xenophobe's Guide to Swiss

The Xenophobe's Guide

by Paul Bilton

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

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Cultural, Comedy, Reference, Humor

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like with all The Xenophobe's Guides is well structured and covers as much as in 96 pages is possible. Is enough to give you an educated (some might say biased) introduction to other cultures. I dont know any Swiss people so I take for granted the author and the review frm others

[Meri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the Guide to the Scots first, and thank goodness I did. If I had read the a Guide to the Swiss first, I wouldn't have been reading any of the other Xenophobe Guides. This was a shallow compendium of stereotypes which barely scratched the surface of who the Swiss are. Yes, they have money. Yes, they make a lot of chocolate. Did the author even have to go to Switzerland to write this? The Scots one was so good I will keep reading the others, but if you're looking for a guide to Swiss people, I would suggest "Swiss Watching: Inside Europe's Landlocked Island", instead.

[Paula Fialho Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livro interessante para ficar a conhecer mais sobre a Suíça e os seus habitantes. É uma leitura simples e rápida, mas com muitos aspetos curiosos.

[Inez Moutarde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have lived as an Expat in Switzerland for nearly 5 years. Every little bit about this book is hysterically true. I wish I read it when I first arrived here.

[Alberto Tebaldi · Rating 4 out of 5]

quite an entertaining and informative book about the Swiss culture

[Haaike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soms iets te stereotiep (maar hey, dat is natuurlijk deels het punt van deze serie), soms luidop zitten giechelen omwille van de herkenbaarheid. Bij een aantal aspecten had ik het gevoel dat ze evengoed over vb. België hadden kunnen geschreven zijn, maar dat ligt misschien deels aan het feit dat de auteur een Brit is (die weliswaar in Zwitserland woont) en hij dus vergelijkt met Groot-Brittanië. Ben wel benieuwd naar de Guide to the Belgians :-)

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told with a sense of humor, it isn't entirely true, but only because not explaining some things in detail leaves room for humor. I enjoyed it, and it was entertaining. Great way to learn about Swiss culture without dying of boredom.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative yet hilarious novel which aims to delve inside even the smallest bizarre traits that, before this novel, have managed to baffle foreigners for millennia. It was a delight to read, providing an amusing 'idiot's guide' to traits common to an entire nation.

[Margaret Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, enjoyable read. My husband and I read it out loud and were quite entertained. Some parts of it were spot-on, other parts (I felt) were way off. The author is British and lives in the Oberland, so perhaps his experience has been different than mine (an American who moved to Zurich).

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Passed on to me by a friend born in Switzerland. When returning it, I will be sure to note the author's description of Swiss of German descent as "somewhat sedated Germans."

[Gregor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moh.

[Linda Grimm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amusing read

Amusing read

For anyone heading to Switzerland _ this should be required reading. The book has good information, presented in a humorous style!

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, lively, sarcastic and extremely readable. This book has made me even more enthusiastic about my upcoming trip to Switzerland.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books in the series.

[James Dalziel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am hooked on this series. In the words of Homer Simpson, "they are funny, because they are true".

[Alicia Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have been useful before visiting the country. Easily read in half an hour.

[Wilmington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read most of the books in the series about Western Europe, and I agree with other reviewers that this one is among the best, along with those about England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (the publisher's home turf). My only criticism is that the author doesn't seem to know well enough other European countries and often describes as typically Swiss things that are in fact exactly the same in other Germanic countries or even in France. This is the case of recycling (p.29-30), disposable fees for household electric items (p.31), gutters that are made of not in plastic but in metal (p.33), or high-quality bus stops (p.34). Other things are an extension of the German system, like gardening or washing the car prohibited on Sunday (p.18), or baths prohibited between 10 pm and 7 am (p.80).

[Herrholz Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being half Swiss and having lived there myself for seven years, this book was at times uncomfortably real in its depictions of the Swiss and the author has done a good job. It made me both laugh and cringe. I was surprised to see that there is no mention of the Swiss obsession with sweeping up leaves in the Autumn! This has to be one of their main obsessions - a real stress buster. And naturally this important work is undertaken with a traditional `Bese` (broom). At this time of year can be heard the partly therapeutic, partly neurotic swish-swiss-swish sound of vigorous swishing.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly insulting title aside, I found this book to be funny and informative for learning about Swiss culture and practices. It felt less "though shalt do this" and more "this is a thing, it may be a bit strange to your American sensibilities, but roll with it". I enjoy that it didn't take itself too seriously, but was informative nonetheless. I will be checking out more from this series as I expand my travels.

[Everett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty funny. And like laugh out loud funny not just in your head amusing if you know what I mean. Being someone who is now living in Switzerland I found the book especially funny. It’s short but fun and good for getting out of a reading slump. It’s also well researched and accurate as it was written by a Brit who had lived in Switzerland for a long time and not just Swiss stereotypes copy pasted into book format. 3.5/5 stars.

[Yuri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a bizarre collection of snippets organized in a haphazard way. It was informative in parts but these little snippets were devoid of context in some ways and presented in a way that was neither enjoyable to read or very memorable. I'm not sure if all the books in these series are presented in this manner but overall was definitely not a fan.

[De.B. Dubois · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perhaps the most humorous way of putting tacit facts about the average Swiss straight on our Swiss-face. If there’s anything at all, that can put a nation and its nationals on stage with “diplomatic humour”, this is it!

[Monica Mangar oprina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scrisa cu umor fin, cartea puncteaza in proportie de 80% (zic eu) aspecte adevarate ale vietii si atitudinii elvetienilor. Multe din cele scrise le-am vazut cu ochii mei. 4 stele pentru ca in unele relatari ironia este cam exagerata...

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice overview.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are always caricatures, but this makes Switzerland sound like both a wonderful and terrrible place to live.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, humorous and informative. Loved it.

[Nicki Fruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this with Swiss friends who have become like family. Man did we have a laugh. Would recommend :).

[Robin Bunbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of it is very true, some of it is not.
Written in a very humours way, that's why I like to read the Xenophobe guides once in a while :3

[Katarzyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ciekawa pozycja - pare rzeczy mnie zaskoczyło, choć myślałam, że o szwajcarach wiem juz wszystko

[David Steigerwald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book with lots of good info about the Swiss. Read while we were in Switzerland, so it provided insight into our surroundings and was actually helpful.