Waterstones Swiss Watching
551 ratings
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Price: £14.99
Brand: Waterstones
Description: A great subject for a cultural anthropologist and Bewes is a perfect guide' Financial Times, Book of the Year A brand new edition of the international bestseller, with new sections on the Swiss elections, the Swiss citizenship test and how Brexit has affected Switzerland. One country, four languages, 26 cantons, and 7.5 million people (but only 80% of them Swiss): there's nowhere else in Europe like it. Switzerland may be almost 400 km from the nearest drop of seawater, but it is an island at the centre of Europe. Welcome to the landlocked island. Swiss Watching is a fascinating journey around Europe's most individual and misunderstood country. From seeking Heidi and finding the best chocolate to reliving a bloody past and exploring an uncertain future, Diccon Bewes proves that there's more to Switzerland than banks and skis, francs and cheese. This book dispels the myths and unravels the true meaning of Swissness.
Category: Books
Merchant: Waterstones
Product ID: 9781473677418
Delivery cost: 2.99
ISBN: 9781473677418
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Author: David Welford
Rating: 5
Review: We have just returned from a wonderful holiday in Interlaken (Aug14), lots to see and do.Our Inghams rep Alistair recommended this book; he said even though he had worked in Switzerland for seven years, he had learnt a lot about Swiss culture from this book. Dicon Bewes writing style is easy reading with humour mixed in with serious facts, like you never get a tatty bank note in your change! My son is living in Switzerland married to a Swiss Italian, we are always surprised how she casually leaves things lying around in vulnerable public places, but now I understand that they are very unlikely to be stolen. There is a really good section that explains the complex structures of the Cantons and democracy in Switzerland. A great browse read for anyone who is interested in what is probably the best country to live in and visit. One English person we were talking to said ' Once you have been to Switzerland for a holiday you have been to the best country in Europe nowhere else compares favourably' (he had been every year for last twenty years).
Author: Phippu
Rating: 3
Review: Diccon Bewes has attempted what is indeed a very difficult task: trying to find out how Swiss people really tick and that as somebody who has not grown up in Switzerland and does not even speak the native language of this hometown Berne fluently, i.e. Bernese German. I am a Swiss and have lived in the UK for over 10 years and I think foreign Swiss have indeed a unique view on Switzerland and what it means being Swiss. Bewes has overall done a very good job although I think his generalisations oversimplify the country and its people. Although he tried his best to be balanced and mentioned some of the negative bits as well, the whole book feels to me too much like a tourist ad and re-enforcing British people's prejudices. Everything in Switzerland has of course to be better than in the UK so as to justify his choice of living in Berne whether it is chocolate, direct democracy, public transport, recycling, neutrality, etc. As a Swiss who has chosen to live in the UK, I think this is all a bit condescending. Also, his attempt to make the number of foreigners nowadays living in Switzerland look more comparable to other European countries is flawed: the recent influx of EU citizens probably due to the crisis in the rest of Europe is remarkable: almost 90,000 enter Switzerland every year and major cities such as Basel and Zurich have changed. Bewes has made a good attempt but he still suffered from the fact that Swiss are so reserved, i.e. Swiss rarely share what they really think with a foreigner. Good book but more surface than people would assume when reading it.
