The Xenophobe's Guide to the Americans

Faul, Stephanie

ISBN 10: 1853047805 / ISBN 13: 9781853047800

Published by Ravette Pub Ltd, 1996

About this Item

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Seller Inventory # S_453384800

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Xenophobe's Guide to the Americans
• Publisher: Ravette Pub Ltd
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1853047805
• ISBN 13: 9781853047800
• Binding: paperback
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Xenophobia: An irrational fear of foreigners. Xenophobe's Guides: Small books that show the more you know the less you fear. Xenophobe's motto: Forewarned is forearmed.

Review

"Xenophobia--an irrational fear of foreigners, probably justified, always understandable."

"Xenophobe's Guides--an irreverent look at the beliefs and foibles of nations, almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia."

The Xenophobe's motto is "Forewarned is forearmed," and this guide series gives travelers to foreign lands as much ammunition as possible. In The Xenophobe's Guide to the Americans, Stephanie Faul (herself an American) takes readers on a perceptive, ironic, frequently hilarious tour of the American psyche, from its basic traits to its attitudes about sex, drugs, and gun control. Discussing the American character, for example, Faul states "Americans believe themselves to be the only nation that is truly capable of winning.... Having God on your side in a fight is good. Having the United States on your side is better. To an American, they're the same thing." On obsessions she writes: "There are a few, a very few things that Americans condemn as being beyond the pale. They include: Growing Old ... Being Fat ... Dying."

Perhaps Americans themselves are in the best position to appreciate Faul's barbed commentary, but foreign visitors will surely find plenty to inform as well as amuse in this slim volume. American readers, take heart: there are 18 other Xenophobe titles taking equally irreverent potshots at everyone else, from the Australians to the Icelanders.