5 comments about Living Among the Swiss.

1. While somewhat interesting, in my opinion the subject matter was lacking. A bit more about banking than I care to read about.



2. This work touches a sensitive nerve for Swiss readers like myself, because it captures the natives' xenophobia, chauvinism, insularity, fear of assimilation by their German neighbors to the north, and general feelings of inferiority and prejudice. The Swiss are not known for great works of art or music or for educational accomplishments outside the fields of medicine and biochemistry/pharmacology or for feminism or even sensitivity to women, and so a book by an American author that pokes fun at these deficiencies serves only to aggravate its subjects' phobias. This is reflected in the negative, often imperfectly literate comments below, which should therefore be not only discounted but also taken as testimonies to this volume's trenchant effectiveness.



3. Ideal for anyone who is planning an extended, low profile trip to Switzerland.



4. I am going to make this short and sweet. I found 50% of Mr. Michael Glueck's experiences to be very different from my own in my 10 years in the country. About 20% of the information was just out right incorrect.



5. Are you considering a job offer in Switzerland? This work provides fair warning about the obstacles that you and your spouse will face as an immigrant: a chauvinistic, closed society of incomprehensible, dialect-speaking burghers obsessed with money and reluctant to trust foreigners even after years of acquaintanceship; high rents and prices for inferior food -- especially beef and chicken -- clothing, and automobiles; undisguised resentment that you are denying a job opportunity to a Swiss citizen; discrimination in career advancement and promotion. Most expatriates leave after a year in order to preserve their marriages. Take these caveats to heart before succumbing to the temptations of Alpine skiing and clean, fresh-water swimming. And read this book before deciding whether to accept the job offer.

No comments about Birkhäuser Architectural Guide Switzerland 20th Century (Birkhauser Architectural Guides).

1 comments about the bernese alps (a walker's guide).

1. I was hiking 8 days in the bernese alps, and this book is almost perfect for it.
   almost - because all of its trips are day trips, but it has in its end a multi-day tours combination (from the 1 day tours) - one of them I did. (Meiringen - Griesalp).
   
   The book is very detailed, and also points out to the problems in the extraordinary marked swiss paths.
   
   one other thing I missed in it, is the lack of map (or drawing) with all the trips of that area.
   
   last thing: since this is not the swiss pass route book, maybe there was a place for more details on the villages them self, and\or attractions in them. (the example I have in mind is the Trümmelbach waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen")
   
   Overall - I am very happy with it and recommend it highly.
   
   one last thing: for the swiss pass route, there are excellent sites with lots of details, which might make this book redundant.

1 comments about Michelin Map No. 552 Southeastern Switzerland : Geneva (Geneve) Bern Andermatt (Switzerland, Suisse).

1. The English translation of the title is incorrect. This is a map of SouthWESTERN Switzerland (ie. West not East). You can confirm this for yourself by looking at the larger version of the image. The map covers Geneve, Sion, Valais, Lausanne, Neuchatel, Bern, and others.

3 comments about Culture Smart! Switzerland: A Quick Guide to Customs & Etiquette.

1. I just bought the book this week and when I finally had a chance to look at it I am extremely disappointed. I flipped directly to the chapter that is my primary concern: language. The entire chapter talks all about Swiss German. One doesn't have to know much about Switzerland to know how multi-lingual the country is. The book doesn't mention anything about French, Italian, or Romansh. Highly recommend NOT buying this book and finding your information elsewhere.



2. 
   Being Swiss and having lived abroad for almost two years now I feel entited to judge this book. Not only do I know my own cultuer but also i have gained enogh distance to my own culture to perceive better what constitutes Swiss culture is. I highly recommend this book. It is a great indtorduction to Swiss culture. The author managed to describe Swiss culture accurately, respectfully and a fine sense of humour.



3. This book describes Swiss culture very accurately and nicely. The author does a fine job in describing the diversity that exists in this country and yet identifies the common themes for the whole country. The author describes well how to approach Swiss people and how to work with Swiss poeple. An excellent introduction to Swiss Culture!

2 comments about Living and Working in Switzerland, Tenth Edition: A Survival Handbook (Living & Working).

1. I purchased this book in anticipation of a possible move to Switzerland. Having just visited Basel, I feel it necessary to warn potential buyers that the numbers presented by the author seem very far off from the actual numbers. For example, he suggests that the "average" price for a four-bedroom house or apartment in Basel would be 1500 CHF per month (rental). The real number is double that (at least--if it is even possible to find a four-bedroom place). Further, he suggests that it would be possible for a couple to spend 600 CHF per month on food. (He gives that number as a minimum.) A stroll through both an ordinary and a gourmet grocery store reveals that a couple *might* be able to live on that small an amount, but only if one lived on pasta for the month and did not go out even once --not for lunch, not for a drink. To give some actual numbers I just paid: two of us spent 20 CHF on three beers in a local bar, 230 CHF on a nice meal for two with wine, and 40 CHF for two bratwurst and three beers in a bar. These were all meals eaten out, obviously, but the point is that the author seems on the one hand to acknowledge that many people planning to move to Switzerland will be filthy rich (he encourages job seekers to remember to ask whether the company will pay for limosines, live-in domestic help, regular flights back to one's home country, and fees for private school), but on the other seems to believe that one will never go out to eat the whole time one is in Switzerland. Some portions of this book will be helpful for those planning to move to Switzerland--he does provide useful information on Swiss laws and customs--but potential readers should be aware that the book is entirely unclear on its intended audience. The wealthy will find parts of the book laughable, while the less well off will get quite a shock if they move to Switzerland using a budget based on the author's numbers.



2. This book will prepare you to move to Switzerland. If you are American, and think moving from the US to Switzerland will be like moving from NY to California, you need this book!
   
   Switzerland, and most European countries, have rules, regulations, and customs that most Americans could never imagine. This book will help you through this maze. I was given this book as part of my move package by my employer, and it made things very smooth. I subsequently met many people who had moved to CH without this guide, and they made lots of mistakes that cost them a lot of money.
   
   One example - if you use your existing driver's license to get a Swiss driver's license within the first year you live here, it costs about 40 USD. If you wait until after a year, you have to go through the very expensive driver's training system and testing, and it can cost hundreds or thousands. Really. That tidbit alone was a major hassle saver. None of my Swiss collegues knew about this issue, so you can't count on talking to locals to get much of the information that is in this book.
   
   Even after living here over 15 years, I still refer to this book from time to time. It is a *must have* if you are really moving to Switzerland.

5 comments about The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain that Killed My Father.

1. 
   An absorbing tale of adventure and exorcising personal demons. John Harlin III is an outdoorsman and mountain climber and successfully navigated climbing the face of the Eiger, where his own father had died some forty years earlier. Notwithstanding the book's subtitle, the mountain did not kill his father, a broken rope led to his father's fall.
   
   In any event, the reader does not get the impression that the younger Harlinis obsessed by any particular Oedipal complex. We can empathize with his plight of living in the shadow of an iconic, larger-than-life mountain climber. At one point in his life, he is tormented by the question, "What have you done in life, other than be the son of a famous man?"
   
   We may all overtly or subliminally have the challenge of surpassing the accomplishments of our fathers. John Harlin III provides a touching memoir of struggle and transcendence, freeing himself from the haunting memories of his father's unsuccessful attempt to climb a mountain that became his obsession.



2. This book is up there with Houstons K2 the Savage Mountain and Krackauers Into Thin Air. John the III doesn't seem to be as obsessed and reckless as his father. I came away from the book feeling that his father cared more about climbing than anything else. At one point he told his wife he felt oppressed by his children and only felt alive when they were not around. I thought that very strange. The other incident that bothered me was when Harlin the III made friends with a young climber named Chuck and took him climbing with him. He pushed Chuck pretty hard, hard enough to where Chuck fell off Mount Robson and killed himself. Harlin the III pointed the dead body out to the authorities and hightailed it out of town, that friendship lasted all of two weeks. That incident struck me as very strange. Overall the book was an entertaining read.



3. The north face of the Eiger Mountain in the European Alps has taken the life of many climbers. The author's father fell 4000 feet to his death when he was almost at the summit. This is the unforgettable story of conquering your fears and making an IMAX movie.



4. The book would be more aptly entitled "The Dad Obsession". There is far too much whiny introspection and far too little discussion of the technical difficulties and triumph of the ascent. A terrible job of editing which allows the author to constantly share his obsession with his memories of his father and their effect on his life. A far better tale is Heinrich Harrer's "The White Spider" (Paladin Books, 1989) written by one of the team of four which first successfully scaled the Eiger in 1938, which book, by the way, respectfully mentions John Harlin II more than once and cites the first successful ascent of the direct "John Harlin Route" in 1966; the one during which Harlin II's rope broke leading to his tragic death. Harrer's is a first-class treatment of mountaineering and ascending the Eiger.



5. John Harlin III climbed above his fear and finally made it to the summit of the mountian that killed his father. He gives us a timeline of events from when his dad was alive to when he finally completed his climb. A good story and read. Although I do feel bad that he lost his father, he has had more oppurtunities and adventures in his life then dozens of people combined. So life for him wasn't all that bad. But then again, I bet he'd trade it all to have had a life with his father. Can't wait to watch the film. Hope it's as good as the book.

5 comments about Switzerland: Rail, Road, Lake, 3rd: The Bradt Travel Guide.

1. We lived in Switzerland for two years and this was our bible - it covers every rail line and many postal and boat routes. It describes interesting sites all along the way so you can see that there is a Switzerland beyond Lucerne, the Bernese Oberland, Zurich, Gimmelwald and other standard tourist destinations. We found great out of the way museums, hikes etc from this book. I'm ordering the newest edition for my upcoming summer trip. We've worn our last edition out! This is a must if you travel by Swiss Pass and the fabulous Swiss train system.



2. This book is mainly for those traveling by train or bus. It was not very helpful for traveling by auto although it did mention some things to see in planning routes.



3. This book is a great resource for those planning a rail journey of Switzerland. There are country maps, region maps, and city maps. Every inch of railroad is covered in this book. The bus and boat coverage is less thorough however. The author does tell you where you can catch some of the more important Post bus routes. The author has also included links to the tourism websites of many of the cites mentioned. Most Swiss tourism websites are full of excellent information. Many smaller, off the beaten track towns are listed as well. Some hotel information is also included.



4. Very comprehensive list of train possibilities from every location. Not as much boat information. Not really useful for trip tourists, but maybe if you were going over for 6 months or longer to work there. Doesn't really include information on why you'd want to go to certain locations (hiking/food/castle/etc).



5. I do not feel this book is as easy to access as a take along travel guide as I would have hoped. All the information is included, but in an "at a glance" fashion.

1 comments about Walking in the Valais (Cicerone Guide).

1. This book show you the best way to discover the Valais' Alps : by walking. Valais,the mountainous part of Switzerland, is just the best Europe can bring you : wonderful casttles, living history, and splendid moutains. If you want to discover the Alps, then buy this book. In Valais, it is like all the picture about Switzerland, Heidi, ... coming true in front of you. Buy this book, you won't be disapointed.

3 comments about 100 Hikes in the Alps.

1. This book was amazing! I bought it before my vacation to the Alps and it helped a lot! This book helps you find hotels and nice places to stay while you take your trip. It also gave me good ideas of where to go. The most interesting places. It showed you where the big sites were. At first I didn't want to walk the whole way, but this book showed me how beautiful it was. It has beautiful pictures and really gave you an idea of what it was like. Buy it! It is not very expensive! It was so good that I looked up for more books buy the author of this fantastic book! They were also great!



2. I didn't find this book that helpful, but I was looking for a more serious type of hiking. If you're just planning to do some day hikes, or are looking for a stroll in the mountains to break up some sightseeing then this book could be really useful. But if you're planning a serious hiking trip, then I'd recommend a different book - maybe Walking in the Alps by Kev Reynolds.

   My biggest complaint was that it did not provide enough info on long/tough hikes. The format was good - clear, concise with nice lists - but it was not geared towards long, multiday hikes. (It has two or three I think). But it also does not have the same level of info on resturants, pubs, places to stay, as in some of the better guide books.




3. Not only does this book do an excellent job of providing a good range (1/2 day hikes to 10 day treks) of the best hikes (it by no means covers all the hikes available - a task more suited for a set of encyclopedias as opposed to a compact guide book) in the Alps region. The descriptions are both accurate and cover the hikes in sufficient detail to give the reader a good idea of what to expect. They include vertical gain/loss info, approx. hiking time and distances in addition to descriptions of what you'll see along the way. It accurately describes the technical difficulty of the trails and if any special equipment will be required.

   I found the descriptions useful not only in deciding what hikes to do but also in deciding what areas to visit and what to see along the way. I plan to use the book again for future trips to the region.