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How to be an Alien: A Handbook for Beginners and Advanced Pupils
 
 
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How to be an Alien: A Handbook for Beginners and Advanced Pupils (Paperback)

by George Mikes (Author), Nicholas Bentley (Illustrator)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.48 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

How to be an Alien: A Handbook for Beginners and Advanced Pupils + How to be a Brit: A George Mikes Minibus + The How to be British Collection
Price For All Three: £16.70

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Product details

  • Paperback: 88 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New Impression edition (26 Jul 1973)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140025146
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140025149
  • Product Dimensions: 18 x 11.1 x 1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 90,491 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

George Mikes says, 'the English have no soul; they have the understatement instead'. But they do have a sense of humour - they provide it by buying over three hundred thousand copies of a book that took them quietly and completely apart, a book that really took the Mikes out of them.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

How to be an Alien: A Handbook for Beginners and Advanced Pupils
72% buy the item featured on this page:
How to be an Alien: A Handbook for Beginners and Advanced Pupils 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£5.48
How to be a Brit: A George Mikes Minibus
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How to be a Brit: A George Mikes Minibus 4.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£6.98
The How to be British Collection
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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A warm book about English people through Hungarian humour, 21 Oct 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: How to Be an Alien (Penguin ELT Simplified Readers: Level 3: Pre-Intermediate: 1200 Headwords) (Paperback)
One of the best ways to get to know a country is by understanding its humour. That is why I was so pleased when I came across the book "How to be an Alien" in the university library. By reading this warm book from the Hungarian author, Mikes Gyorgy, or if you prefer George Mikes, you can hit three birds with one stone (yes it is a big stone). Readers get to know the peculiarities of English people through Hungarian humour while having a good time. Although he is not from England, it is no question that he is an expert on English people - what was to be a two-week holiday in England for him in 1939 became a field trip for a lifetime. The book contains Mikes` serious discoveries and explanations about British life, whereby my fellow-countryman teaches the world about English mentality. The main problem is that except for me, nobody wants to take him seriously. So much so, that even the illustrations to this scientifically supported "instruction book" created by Nicolas Bentley, were humorous. It became so popular, that the publisher even brought out a new version of the book with a simpler style for non-English mother tongue readers. Now I will put back this pearl to the row of light readings, where you can find others, which have also unfortunately been misunderstood, including the fine pieces of work of the Hungarian-Israeli writer Ejfraim Kishont. As more and more people enjoy these books as a humorous offering, all I can do is to stand by my beliefs in silence as I recommend "How to be an Alien" laughingly to young people and to old, to British and to the rest. Throughout I am just waiting desperately for someone to realise that it is true that: a. the English really do drink tea with milk, while they talk very excitedly about the monotonously pouring rain, b. they do not loose their temper even when they stand all by themselves for hours in a queue at a bus stop, and c. they always travel on the wrong side of the road. When this finally happens, this book will be placed in the reference section of libraries around the world, and will become compulsory reading
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9 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars a very funny book written with great insight, 3 April 2001
By A Customer
Well, for a book written in 1947 this is a great insight into what englishness is and how ridiculous it is. Written by a hungarian who came to england it is a funny way of looking at how a hungarian was received in that time and whilst being amusing shows some underlying truths about the english

buy it

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