Xenophobe’s Guide to the Portuguese
£4.99An enlightening title in the popular series, highlighting the unique character and behaviour of the Portuguese.
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Xenophobe’s Guide to the Israelis
£4.99Highlights the unique character and behavior of the nation. Frank, irreverent, funny–almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia.
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Xenophobe’s Guide to the Finns
£4.99Forewarned is forearmed?an irreverent look at the beliefs and foibles of nations, almost guaranteed to cure xenophobia.  This guide to understanding the Finns explores their national characteristics with humor and style.
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Xenophobe’s Guide to the Chinese
£4.99The 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.
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Xenophobe’s Guide to the Estonians
£4.99The roots of “Ootame, vaatame” “Let’s wait and see,” are embedded in the deepest chasm of the Estonian psyche because, for a very long time, the people had little choice to do anything else. This philosophy is a close relation to the Spanish mañana (“tomorrow”). The difference is that the languid Spanish are just deferring…
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Xenophobe’s Guide to the Japanese
£4.99“The quintessence of unspoken mutual understanding is to be found in the word yoroshiku: ‘You have understood what I want you to do. I have understood that you have understood what I want you to do. Therefore I leave it up to you to finish the task and I expect it to be done in the way I want it to be done. And I thank you for understanding me and agreeing to take the trouble to do the task.’ All this in four syllables.””For all the apparent worship of the way of the warrior, being yasashii, which means being gentle, tender, caring, yielding and considerate, is very important in Japan. Asked what a Japanese values most in a potential spouse, both sexes tend to put being being yasashii at the top of their list of desirable virtues. The concept is even applied to the inanimate. For instance, a car or shampoo can be yasashii to you, to the eye, and to the environment.”.
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Xenophobe’s Guide to the Icelanders
£4.99“Not only has an Icelander held the title of World’s Strongest Man, but there have been several Icelandic Miss Worlds. There have also been a surprising number of Icelandic chess grandmasters, and Iceland has more writers and artists per capita than any other country on earth. These facts reinforce the Icelanders’ belief that they are a nation of strong, beautiful and intelligent people.””The essence of Icelandic conversation is the insult. Icelanders are born with a talent for it and use it with ease from an early age. Because of their farming and fishing ancestry the most telling jibes involve sheep and fish. It is a very serious matter to refer to someone as a sheep or a codhead.”.
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Xenophobe’s Guide to the Danes
£4.99Everything in moderationDenmark is a land of modesty and moderation. This is largely a consequence of the Danes’ sense of social responsibility. The touchstone of any activity or point of view is whether it is samfundsrelevant, that is, socially useful. That’s not funnyDanish humor suffers from the handicap of the Danes’ literal-mindedness (“Can you play the…
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Xenophobe’s Guide to the Italians
£4.99La Dolce VitaThe Italians live life to the fullest, and do not feel in the least bit guilty leading a life of leisure and pleasure 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. This is what life is all about: Italians do not live to work, they work to live. Achoo Brute?The…
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Xenophobe’s Guide To The Irish
£4.99The couth truthA popular perception of the Irish is that they’re all fiery, freckle-faced red-heads who’ll start a fight at the slightest offence (e.g., being called British). The bit about the freckles is accurate enough, but the typical Irish person has brown hair and blue eyes. And while they may be descended from the Celts,…
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Xenophobe’s Guide To The Welsh
£4.99Welsh willfulnessThe Welsh are stubborn-very, very stubborn. The Welsh themselves would probably rather say “tenacious,” but to anyone on the receiving end a better description might well be “bloody-minded.” Proud and proud of itWelsh pride is real pride-the sort of mindless, instinctive, animal pride that requires no justification or excuse. It is simply pride for the…