How to be a Brit
The hilariously accurate, witty and indispensable manual for everyone longing to attain True Britishness
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Published:5th Nov '15
Should be back in stock very soon
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£9.99(9780140081794)
Aportrait of stiff upper lips, scrupulous politeness and curious social codes,How to Be a Britexaminesthe strange things we do and say. If you're British you'll love it; if you're a foreigner, you'll appreciate it . . .
A guide to the British Way of Life. It includes insights on important topics including the weather, how to be rude and how to panic quietly. It contains author's three major works - How to be an Alien, How to be Inimitable and How to be Decadent.
A complete guide to the British Way of Life. If you're British, you'll love it. If you're not, you'll recognise it.
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Born in Hungary, George Mikes spent more than forty years in the Britain observing behaviours and misbehaviours of local and foreign Brits.
- Queuing: "An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one."
- How to plan a town:"Street names should be painted clearly and distinctly on large boards. Then hide these boards carefully."
- Sex:"Continental people have sex lives: the English have hot water bottles."
With essential chapters such as "How to Avoid Travelling", "In Praise of Television", "On Not Complaining" and "How to Panic Quietly", they’ll get to know Britain like never before with this fun and informative gift!
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WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:
'Got me in tears of laughter'
'Hilarious and informative essays about the British way of life'
'So many people have tried to describe the English mentality . . . This book is as near as you can get!'
'Laugh-out-loud hilarious, witty and insightful
In all the miseries which plague mankind, there is hardly anything better than such radiant humour as is given to you. Everyone must laugh with you - even those who are hit with your little arrows. * Albert Einstein to George Mikes *
An instant classic -- Francis Wheen on 'How to Be an Alien'
Very funny * The Economist *
Bill Bryson is George Mikes' love-child -- Jeremy Paxman
This is the vital textbook for Brits, would-be Brits, and anyone who wonders what being a Brit really means. Pass me my hot water bottle, please -- Dame Esther Rantzen
Wise and witty -- William Cook on 'How to Be an Alien' * Spectator *
Brilliantly comical -- Pico Iyer on 'How to Be an Alien' * New York Times *
Mikes is a master of the laconic yet slippery put-down: "The trouble with tea is that originally it was quite a good drink" -- Henry Hitchings
I love it and read it cover to cover. Also has good tips for talking about the weather, not that we need them -- Rachel Johnson
Full of the very best advice that any would-be Brit should need (and for those of us who have forgotten exactly how it is to be ourselves) it's ajolly good read * The Telegraph *
How to be an Alien inspired me ... Some of his observations remain remarkably fresh and relevant 70 years later, but it's his tone that impressed me -- Erin Moore, author of That's Not English
Brilliantly comical -- Pico Iyer on 'How to Be an Alien' * New York Times *
I used to think that Mikes's world has gone, but it has returned to us in spades via the referendum. -- Nick Fraser * The Guardian *
ISBN: 9780241975008
Dimensions: 197mm x 129mm x 17mm
Weight: 196g
272 pages