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Switzerland for Beginners
1st Andre Deutsch 1962 edition hardcover vg+ book in vg dw In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
- GenresHumorTravelNonfiction
92 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1962
3 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
George Mikes
141 books55 followersGeorge Mikes (pronounced Mik-esh) was a Hungarian-born British author best known for his humorous commentaries on various countries.
Mikes graduated in Budapest in 1933 and started work as a journalist on Reggel ("Morning"), a Budapest newspaper. For a short while he wrote a column called Intim Pista for Színházi Élet ("Theatre Life").
In 1938 Mikes became the London correspondent for Reggel and 8 Órao Ujság ("8 Hours"). He worked for Reggel until 1940. Having been sent to London to cover the Munich Crisis and expecting to stay for only a couple of weeks, he remained for the rest of his life. In 1946 he became a British Citizen. It is reported that being a Jew from Hungary was a factor in his decision. Mikes wrote in both Hungarian and English: The Observer, The Times Literary Supplement, Encounter, Irodalmi Újság, Népszava, the Viennese Hungarian-language Magyar Híradó, and Világ.
From 1939 Mikes worked for the BBC Hungarian section making documentaries, at first as a freelance correspondent and, from 1950, as an employee. From 1975 until his death on 30 August 1987 he worked for the Hungarian section of Szabad Európa Rádió. He was president of the London branch of PEN, and a member of the Garrick Club.
His friends included Arthur Koestler, J. B. Priestley and André Deutsch, who was also his publisher.
His first book (1945) was We Were There To Escape – the true story of a Jugoslav officer about life in prisoner-of-war camps. The Times Literary Supplement praised the book for the humour it showed in parts, which led him to write his most famous book How to be an Alien which in 1946 proved a great success in post-war Britain.
How to be an Alien (1946) poked gentle fun at the English, including a one-line chapter on sex: "Continental people have sex lives; the English have hot-water bottles."
Subsequent books dealt with (among others) Japan (The Land of the Rising Yen), Israel (Milk and Honey, The Prophet Motive), the U.S. (How to Scrape Skies), and the United Nations (How to Unite Nations), Australia (Boomerang), the British again (How to be Inimitable, How to be Decadent), and South America (How to Tango). Other subjects include God (How to be God), his cat (Tsi-Tsa), wealth (How to be Poor) or philosophy (How to be a Guru).
Apart from his commentaries, he wrote humorous fiction (Mortal Passion; The Spy Who Died of Boredom) and contributed to the satirical television series That Was The Week That Was.
His autobiography was called How to be Seventy.
Serious writing included a book about the Hungarian Secret Police and he narrated a BBC television report of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
Mikes graduated in Budapest in 1933 and started work as a journalist on Reggel ("Morning"), a Budapest newspaper. For a short while he wrote a column called Intim Pista for Színházi Élet ("Theatre Life").
In 1938 Mikes became the London correspondent for Reggel and 8 Órao Ujság ("8 Hours"). He worked for Reggel until 1940. Having been sent to London to cover the Munich Crisis and expecting to stay for only a couple of weeks, he remained for the rest of his life. In 1946 he became a British Citizen. It is reported that being a Jew from Hungary was a factor in his decision. Mikes wrote in both Hungarian and English: The Observer, The Times Literary Supplement, Encounter, Irodalmi Újság, Népszava, the Viennese Hungarian-language Magyar Híradó, and Világ.
From 1939 Mikes worked for the BBC Hungarian section making documentaries, at first as a freelance correspondent and, from 1950, as an employee. From 1975 until his death on 30 August 1987 he worked for the Hungarian section of Szabad Európa Rádió. He was president of the London branch of PEN, and a member of the Garrick Club.
His friends included Arthur Koestler, J. B. Priestley and André Deutsch, who was also his publisher.
His first book (1945) was We Were There To Escape – the true story of a Jugoslav officer about life in prisoner-of-war camps. The Times Literary Supplement praised the book for the humour it showed in parts, which led him to write his most famous book How to be an Alien which in 1946 proved a great success in post-war Britain.
How to be an Alien (1946) poked gentle fun at the English, including a one-line chapter on sex: "Continental people have sex lives; the English have hot-water bottles."
Subsequent books dealt with (among others) Japan (The Land of the Rising Yen), Israel (Milk and Honey, The Prophet Motive), the U.S. (How to Scrape Skies), and the United Nations (How to Unite Nations), Australia (Boomerang), the British again (How to be Inimitable, How to be Decadent), and South America (How to Tango). Other subjects include God (How to be God), his cat (Tsi-Tsa), wealth (How to be Poor) or philosophy (How to be a Guru).
Apart from his commentaries, he wrote humorous fiction (Mortal Passion; The Spy Who Died of Boredom) and contributed to the satirical television series That Was The Week That Was.
His autobiography was called How to be Seventy.
Serious writing included a book about the Hungarian Secret Police and he narrated a BBC television report of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 24, 2017
Many years ago I was a "Guest Worker" in Switzerland.
We had gone over for a family wedding. After the wedding, we were intending to go to England to find work, but people suggested we stay on. We said "But we don't speak German."
"That doesn't matter. You ought to see all the people working here that don't speak our language"
& it did prove quite easy to obtain work. I never became really fluent in Switzerdeutsch, but my Hoch Deutsch (long forgotten!) wasn't too bad. My husband ended up speaking some Italian as his final job was working on a roadworking crew & other than his supervisor, none of the Italian crew spoke English or German.
It was an interesting experience & it did give us a small window of insight to the Swiss character.
The gentle humour in this book rang very true, especially on the subject of money & how Swiss are often suspicious of people in the next village. The section on women getting the vote was entertaining as well, but Mikes missed that woman in Apenzell didn't get to vote on local issues until 1991! Maybe by then the good men of Apenzell weren't deciding this issue by a show of hands in St Gallen's town square!
The illustrations by Godi Hofmann were very sweet & added a lot to my enjoyment of the book.
I will note this edition of the book was published in 1975 & I haven't been back to Switzerland since 1984.
We had gone over for a family wedding. After the wedding, we were intending to go to England to find work, but people suggested we stay on. We said "But we don't speak German."
"That doesn't matter. You ought to see all the people working here that don't speak our language"
& it did prove quite easy to obtain work. I never became really fluent in Switzerdeutsch, but my Hoch Deutsch (long forgotten!) wasn't too bad. My husband ended up speaking some Italian as his final job was working on a roadworking crew & other than his supervisor, none of the Italian crew spoke English or German.
It was an interesting experience & it did give us a small window of insight to the Swiss character.
The gentle humour in this book rang very true, especially on the subject of money & how Swiss are often suspicious of people in the next village. The section on women getting the vote was entertaining as well, but Mikes missed that woman in Apenzell didn't get to vote on local issues until 1991! Maybe by then the good men of Apenzell weren't deciding this issue by a show of hands in St Gallen's town square!
The illustrations by Godi Hofmann were very sweet & added a lot to my enjoyment of the book.
I will note this edition of the book was published in 1975 & I haven't been back to Switzerland since 1984.
September 16, 2011
Although this book is a few decades old, it is still the best and funniest books on us Swiss, our quirks. I had to laugh or nod pretty much from the first to the last page. And many things I was never even aware of or never wasted a second thought on were pointed out to me by a foreigner looking at us from a distance.[return]Therefore this is not only a book for beginners, but also for the native Swiss.
February 13, 2025
'There is no such language as Schwitzerdeutsch I thought there was, but the joke was on me, I guess There is Zürcherdeutsch, there is Baslerdeutsch, there i Schwyzerdeutsch; and there is St Gallendeutsch. And five dozen other deutsches. When I started to use the languag I learned in Schwyz, as soon as I got to Zürich as these good people started nudging each other with thei elbows or exchanging knowing looks. I wasn't speaking Zürcherdeutsch. I was a wretched foreigner. Almost an enemy. I am better off with English.
May 18, 2023
Hilariously funny yet informative.
January 22, 2012
Very very funny!
Even bearing it mind that it was written 50 years ago and last updated 37 years ago, much of it is still true!
Even bearing it mind that it was written 50 years ago and last updated 37 years ago, much of it is still true!
January 6, 2013
This is a great book, a MUST READ for anyone planning to spend extended time in Switzerland! It's a delightful country and this will help you appreciate its uniqueness.
April 23, 2023
I don't love this book as much as I love George Mikes' How to be an Alien, but it convinced me that it is worthwhile to read his other books and they will give me enjoyment. So for that, I am very grateful to this book
June 27, 2018
Some interesting insights about Swiss culture but out of date in many respects. It needs a revision
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews