We Europeans
By: Richard Hill
Edition: 4th ed.
Publisher: Europublications
Published: 1993
Place of publication: Brussels
Language: eng
Number of pages: 354
Subjects: National characteristics, European.; Europe -- Civilization -- 1945-
First sentence: The idea of putting my observations and thoughts to paper first came to me in 1988, on a beautiful autumn night in Nice. Standing on a balcony and sipping a gin and tonic, I watched the cars descending the hillside opposite. All the headlights were yellow...
Description: This book provides a penetrating and entertaining analysis of the attitudes and behavioural traits of each nationality and continues with inter-country comparisons covering such aspects as value systems, attitudes to health, day-to-day living, spare-time preferences and communication habits. Chapters describe the finer points that distinguish one European culture from another, in an anecdotal and easy-to-read style, supported by research results and input from a wide range of observers. 'WeEuropeans' concludes with an upbeat look at the future of this idiosyncratic part of the world.
Notes: I've read lots of books treating the subject matter of Europeans in different ways and this is by far the most entertaining of all of them. It covers the subjects of the politics, linguistics, attitudes, history and cultures of the distinct European nations written about in this book with just the right mix of humour and well-researched information. I have no idea how one person can get to become so knowledgeable about every single one of these countries and how its people operate but Richard Hill certainly manages to get it right. This isn't a guide book or a travel book. In fact I'm not sure how I'd categorise it but I think that it would be for anyone who finds the subject matter interesting from an academic point of view but wants a good read at the same time.

Review by Melon Dubes on amazon.co.uk