The Xenophobe's Guide to the Italians
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Xenophobes guide to the Italians is a concise, humorous and informative look at the Italian people and their way of life. Among the topics that are mentioned are the importance of regional identities, the North/South divide, and the importance of the family in Italian life, as well as many other things.
The book uses stereotypes and generalizations to describe the people, so it cannot, and should not, account for all Italians. An example of this is in the section writing about how the rest of the world sees Italy - "The typical stereotype of the Italians is that of a noisy, passionate, scheming Mediterranean people, whose brilliance and inventiveness are unfortunately marred by laziness and unreliability".
Another interesting point noted in the book is how the national identity of Italian immigrants is stonger than in other nations, and as a result people such as Robert De Niro, Frank Sinatra, and Diego Maradona are considered to be as much Italian as their newly adopted country.
The book uses stereotypes and generalizations to describe the people, so it cannot, and should not, account for all Italians. An example of this is in the section writing about how the rest of the world sees Italy - "The typical stereotype of the Italians is that of a noisy, passionate, scheming Mediterranean people, whose brilliance and inventiveness are unfortunately marred by laziness and unreliability".
Another interesting point noted in the book is how the national identity of Italian immigrants is stonger than in other nations, and as a result people such as Robert De Niro, Frank Sinatra, and Diego Maradona are considered to be as much Italian as their newly adopted country.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Haven't tried any of the other xenophobe's guides yet, but this one really hits the mark - in most amusing fashion - in describing the eccentricities of my Italian girlfriend and her family. Allegria, campanilismo, la mamma: it's all here.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As an Italian myself I find this book quite funny. The guide is accurate most of the time but tend to refer to stereotypes or to Italians as they were 50 or more years ago! I think this guide needs a little update as do others of the same series I have read (English and French.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
good book.... until it talks about Finland
The book is amusing beyond belief, but in the copy I got, pages 45-62 are about Finland and the Finns! Read more
Published 3 months ago by Casey
An ironic look at a people's characteristics - To be taken with a...
There are many truths here (I should know, I'm Italian :-), some baffling generalisations (coming from somebody who's written well after the 19th century, that is), but overall the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Adriano1977
Jarmila: About these guides
These quides are very good entertiment. They do not aspire to analyse deeply or to be sophisticated. They just capture some funny features about various nations. Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2009 by Mrs. J. Pomekacova
On the button!
When we moved to Italy someone bought us this book. What a gem! I lent it to my new-found Italian friend who speaks a little English. Read more
Published on 17 April 2006 by Graham Lane
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