Xenophobe's Guide to the Austrians

By Louis James

Book Overview

A guide to understanding the Austrians that delves into the cultural curiosities and peculiar characteristics of this land-locked nation "The Austrian needs lots of persuading to have his traditions tampered with in the name of modernization and efficiency. He is attached to his sausage, his insipid beer, and the young white wine that tastes so remarkably like iron filings. He prefers the familiar, tried, and tested to the novelty, the latter almost certainly being an attempt by persons unknown to make money at his expense." "Home life for the Austrians is a never-ending quest for Gem tlichkeit or coziness, which is achieved by accumulating objects that run the gamut from the pleasingly aesthetic to the mind-blowingly kitsch." "In Austria detonating pretension is a national pastime. It has to do with attitudes to power that date back to an absolutist form of government and with the self-irony developed by people who were (or thought they were) more talented than the authority to which they had to defer." "The paradoxical character of the Austrian mingles profoundly conservative attitudes with a flair for innovation and invention. This creative tension usually takes the form of official obstructionism to good ideas, but sometimes the other way round. For example, the population were outraged by Josef II's attempt to make them adopt reusable coffins with flaps on the underside for dropping out the corpses. (The Emperor was forced to retreat, grumbling as he did so about the people's wasteful attitude.)"

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1906042217
• ISBN13: 9781906042219
• Release Date: May 2011
• Publisher: Oval Books
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

A not-so-xenophobic view

ABOUT the title: it is distinctly tongue-in-cheek -- something which I feel I ought to mention because a friend, seeing it on my table, was horrified that I would be reading hate-literature. ABOUT the content: I suppose it can be hard for us Americans to get a handle on the fact that other peoples do not necessarily see everything the same way we do. And this is what makes the book a charming little add-on to our necessary standard travel guides. ABOUT Austria: I loved the place and must go back.

So true!

This book is soooo true!! I am an Austrian myself, at the moment living in the United States, and came across this book via my boss, who is an Austria aficionado. I think I rarely ever enjoyed a book that much; to everyone who ever spent some time in my country and got to love its many peculiarities, this will be a great souvenir / gift!!!

Short, readable, humorous

A good little book, providing a quick traveler's introduction to the Austrians. It is written with a pervasive sense of humor, and offers insights into local custom and character. It is not a substitue for either a true guide book or for a good history (both of which we would strongly urge one to have). Read this first, then consult the travel guide books and read The Austrians.