Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
45 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
How to be an Alien: A Handbook for Beginners and Advanced Pupils
 
 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

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: £5.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.00 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 2 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, July 21? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
16 new from £3.10 29 used from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (New ed of Abridged ed) Order it used
Paperback (New edition) 10 used & new from £2.95

Frequently Bought Together

How to be an Alien: A Handbook for Beginners and Advanced Pupils + How to be a Brit: A George Mikes Minibus + Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour
Price For All Three: £18.77

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

How to be a Brit: A George Mikes Minibus

How to be a Brit: A George Mikes Minibus

by George Mikes
4.0 out of 5 stars (4)  £6.99
Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour

Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour

by Kate Fox
3.7 out of 5 stars (82)  £5.79
The Xenophobe's Guide to the English (Xenophobe's Guides)

The Xenophobe's Guide to the English (Xenophobe's Guides)

by Antony Miall
4.3 out of 5 stars (3)  £4.74
The How to be British Collection

The How to be British Collection

by Martyn Ford
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £4.76
The English: A Portrait of a People

The English: A Portrait of a People

by Jeremy Paxman
3.8 out of 5 stars (77)  £6.49
› Explore similar items

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: 137,123 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

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.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

How to be an Alien: A Handbook for Beginners and Advanced Pupils
69% 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)
£5.99
How to be a Brit: A George Mikes Minibus
19% buy
How to be a Brit: A George Mikes Minibus 4.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£6.99
"How to be an Alien": Level 3 (Penguin Longman Penguin Readers)
4% buy
"How to be an Alien": Level 3 (Penguin Longman Penguin Readers) 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£5.30
Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour
4% buy
Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour 3.7 out of 5 stars (82)
£5.79
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
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
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
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

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

The Body Shop

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Skin Boost
Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

›Shop The Body Shop

  

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

›More info on Wish Lists

  

Boys Smell

Lynx Africa Body Spray and After Shave Gift set
But we make sure they smell good...

›Discover male grooming at Amazon.co.uk

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates