The Xenophobe's Guide to the Spanish


Drew Launay - 1995
    Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Swiss


Paul Bilton - 1996
    Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Irish


Frank McNally - 2005
    The general implication is that Irish people are a mass of contradictions, and impervious to the rational thought processes that might resolve them.

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Japanese


Sahoko Kaji - 1993
    Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.

Xenophobe's Guide to the Austrians


Louis James - 2000
    He is attached to his sausage, his insipid beer, and the young white wine that tastes so remarkably like iron filings. He prefers the familiar, tried, and tested to the novelty, the latter almost certainly being an attempt by persons unknown to make money at his expense. Kitschy, kitschy, kooHome life for the Austrians is a never-ending quest for Gemütlichkeit or coziness, which is achieved by accumulating objects that run the gamut from the pleasingly aesthetic to the mind-blowingly kitsch. Austrian autonomyIn Austria detonating pretension is a national pastime. It has to do with attitudes to power that date back to an absolutist form of government and with the self-irony developed by people who were (or thought they were) more talented than the authority to which they had to defer. A grave issueThe paradoxical character of the Austrian mingles profoundly conservative attitudes with a flair for innovation and invention. This creative tension usually takes the form of official obstructionism to good ideas, but sometimes the other way round. For example, the population were outraged by Josef II's attempt to make them adopt reusable coffins with flaps on the underside for dropping out the corpses. (The Emperor was forced to retreat, grumbling as he did so about the people's wasteful attitude.)

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Russians


Vladimir Zhelvis - 1995
    Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Icelanders


Richard Sale - 1995
    If you doubt the veracity of this claim you need only consult the Viking Sagas, the greatest of all literary achievements, where this view is expressed countless times during the course of long meandering tales of murder and revenge.'Xenophobe's Motto—Forewarned is forearmed.

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Dutch


Rodney Bolt - 1996
    Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Belgians


Antony Mason - 1994
    The guides try to explain why things are done the way they are,and they try to allay the feelings of trepidation with which the xenophobe approaches new territory. This particular book looks at the Belgians.

Xenophobe's Guide to the Czechs


Petr Berka - 2008
    All roads lead to CzechiaThe Czechs seem to believe that the Earth is the center of the Universe, Europe is the centre of the Earth, and Czechia is at the centre of Europe. Reality CzechsThe ability to put up with a situation adjusting as needs must has been elevated to an art form. Chuckling CzechsCzech humor is distinguished by mad screams, breast and thigh slapping, and uncontrollable braying. Top of the Czech listThe Czechs would like to be seen as the cauldron in which all that's good from West and East melts; and if not the best, then at least one of the top nations in the world.

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Poles


Ewa Lipniacka - 1994
    Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.

Xenophobe's Guide to the Scots


David Ross - 1999
    Their reserve is not a defense against the rest of the world: it is a protective cover, like the lid of a nuclear reactor. Rob joyCalvinism is still deeply ingrained in the Scottish soul. A Scottish poet, overcome by the joy of sunshine and blue sky, once cried out what a fine day it was. The woman to whom he spoke replied, “We'll pay for it, we'll pay for it.” Cunning and cleverThe Scots respect cleverness and like to feel that they possess plenty of it themselves. In Scotland there is nothing wrong with being clever, so long as you show it by words or actions, rather than by bragging. You don't have to hide it. To say of someone that “he has a good conceit of himself” is neither praise nor blame, just a statement of fact.

The Xenophobe's Guide to the French


Nick Yapp - 1995
    The guides try to explain why things are done the way they are and they try to allay the feelings of trepidation with which the xenophobe approaches new territory. This particular book looks at the French.

Xenophobe's Guide to the Chinese


Song Zhu - 1996
    The Chinese are inordinately proud of having invented, among a whole host of other things, the compass (without which the world would have got lost), paper (without which books would not exist), the printing press (ditto), porcelain (no pretty matching chinaware), silk (no decadence), pasta (what would the Italians eat?), the wheelbarrow (how would civilisation have fared without it?) and the bristle toothbrush. A guide to understanding the Chinese which dispels or confirms preconceived prejudices with humor and insight.

The Xenophobe's Guide to the Italians


Martin Solly - 1995
    Frank, irreverent, funny--almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.