Foreigner Books

I heard Robert Winder on radio 5 and bought the book immediately. I was not disappointed.

I am a great believer in the truth and nothing but the truth. Or scientific correctness. But this type of history can be boring. Winder is anything but, as he traces all of the myriad strains that made Britain great.

I have to declare an interest. My father's family was German Jewish and came to work in the fur trade in London. My mother's was French Hugenote. Both migrations are described in detail. So perhaps it is all personal.

But it is the humour and the anecdotes that make this book. Who'd have thought that the local Captain Mainwaring in Maldon in Essex was an Indian GP? True! And he was so well thought of, that they named a school after him.

Robert Winder is to be congratulated on turning a difficult subject into one that almost has the pace of a thriller. It certainly has the readability.

A most impressive book, and beautifully written. Winder traces the story of immigrants into Britain - he deals mainly with England - from pre-Celtic times to the present. As the sources become more plentiful, so the book gathers momentum, and by the time he reaches the time of the Huguenot immigrants in the 17th century, it really begins to sparkle. As he moves from one wave of immigrants to the next, the story - until very recent times - is always the same: initially there is some popular resentment, but, often sooner rather than later, they have been accepted, do well and contribute enormously to the economy and quality of life in these islands. Many people will be aware of the variety of immigrants who have come to Britain; but this is a thorough and systematic account, based on a formidable amount of reading. It could have been a dry catalogue, but the story is captivatingly told: each time Winder explains the circumstances which caused a particular group to arrive, and innumerable stories of individuals are given with great verve and vividness: Huguenots from France; Dutchmen who came with William III; Germans who came with the Hanoverians and who continued to come in the 19th century; black people who originally came as servants and slaves; Italians who left a repressive and over-populated homeland; Irishmen who escaped the famine to work in the factories and on the canals and railways during the Industrial Revolution; Jews who fled from anti-Semitism in Russia and Germany; the Lascars from Asia who manned so many British ships; Greek and Turkish Cypriots who came in large numbers from their war-torn island; men from all over the Empire who had fought for Britain in the First World War; Poles during the Second World War; the Chinese from Hong Kong before the gates were shut to them by the Act of 1997 just before the territory was given up to China; Kenya and Uganda Asians whom Kenyatta and Idi Amin were throwing out. And there were of course the West Indians who came in large numbers during the time when all imperial subjects were given the right of free entry into Britain by the 1948 Nationality Act. That is where the trouble started: the numbers were now such that governments became alarmed, and much of the last third of the book catalogues the desperate but unavailing attempts of governments to stem the flow: from the Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1962 through to the chicaneries, incompetence and bureaucratic insensitivities of what Winder calls "the Asylum madness" from 1996 onwards. Winder leaves it an open question whether the government led or followed public opinion, though he leaves no doubt about the way a hostile public opinion was fanned by the press. It is in any case a disgraceful story, mitigated only by the fact that it was occasionally restrained by impulses of decency, which were also to be found in sections of public opinion. The huge increase in the number of people wanting to come to Britain undoubtedly created genuine problems, but, to give just a few of many examples, few people were aware that the immigrant population was contributing more in tax than it was receiving in benefits; that certain groups like the Indians were producing in proportion more professionals and successful businessmen than did the white population; and that a largely young group of immigrants for whose education Britain had not had to pay would contribute towards supporting the increasing number of pensioners. Winder's indignation about the sour attitudes towards the immigrants - not to mention the many race riots and racially motivated murders - is in no doubt; but he recognizes countervailing sentiments both inside and outside government. The fact remains that Britain remained a magnet for immigration even though the migrants knew what difficulties they would have to face. There are great many shrewd psychological and sociological comments throughout the book, and it ends with a superb and thoughtful chapter of reflections on what a multi-ethnic Britain could and should be like and what indeed in many ways is taking shape already: a Britain in which the question of "ethnic identity" dissolves and the people of Britain can "cohere around a lucid set of individual rights, so that the group to which any man, woman or child belongs is incidental rather than decisive."

this succinct volumn covers the title territory without falling off its subject. That the author is a native of France writing grant applications in Seattle must be the perfect preparation.

I bought this guide AFTER I had bought my house in France, and I still think it's a useful reference. Laurence Raybois covers the basics related to the purchase process, legalities, insurance, and remodeling/ renovations in one slim little volume. It's indespensible for anyone who needs to educate themselves about buying property in France.

This is a great book to get you pointed in the right direction about the law in Spain. Searl has a plain English style of writing and is easy to understand. It's regularly updated and well worth buying the newest edition as the laws here change frequently!

I bought this book back in February 06 when we were in the process of buying a property in Spain. Not being a native and not speaking spanish very well, it is sometimes an overwhelming idea to buy a property in a foreign country. There are thousands of people each year who are purchasing properties but I have found that not many really understand the process involved. Many hire people to take care of all those details but go into it blindly. When you ask them questions, they do not know how to answer.

I found that this book exceeded my expectations. It is very well written and gives thought to many details of the entire process, giving the reader a better understanding of what to expect.

Reading this book helps you make informed decisions and not leaving it up to chance. A must have book!

After loving "Bilal's Bread," the first novel from Sulayman X, I was eager to read this one--and I was not disappointed. This is the story of young Isa, who as the offspring of an American GI and his Thai mother, is known as a "bird-shit foreigner." The story gives a quick overview of his sad upbringing as a half-breed, and launches into his life on a banana plantation, living with his stern grandparents. After watching the workmen, one of them figures out his nature and rapes him. Then several of the men have him.

In physical and emotion pain, he runs away to Shanghai and makes a living the first way he finds how--by working as a young boy male prostitute and living in a public park. When he hits bottom, strung out on heroin, he is discovered by a kindly Muslim family. The healing process begins, but slowly, and haphazardly, as he falls in love with a son in the family who is his same age.

He has always wanted to find his mother, and some other unspoken wishes and dreams come to fruition here. So many fine points are deeply thought out. For instance, the name "Isa," which seems Muslim to the family who takes him in, was really from his careless prostitute mother, who saw a battered sign in the hospital as she was going into labor: "...isa and Mastercard Accepted."

Though there were a few points of self-reflection that came across to me as "tell instead of show" (when the rule is "show instead of tell") the story is so rich, the plot so captivating and Isa's character so well-drawn that I can't give this book less than the top rating. Sulayman X is truly breaking new ground in writing about gay life.

This is a boxed set. Comes with 2 tapes and a book that you can keep clean and neat in a box. This has international phonetic symbols too. published in 1988. 231 pages.

Contents: how to learn Cantonese

time

days of the weeks, months, and seasons

numbers and quantitive adjective

simple questions and answers

asking the way

traffic

entertainment

sightseeing

introductions

making a telephone call

visiting friends

visiting hospital

weather

taking tea in a restaurant

sea food

farewell dinner

employing a maid

housekeeping

repair

department store

clothes

market

This book is one of the best I have read on inter-racial relationships and the struggles and hardships of being a stranger in a foreign land.

Helen is an Australian visiting China with her businessman father, and trying to figure out who she is at the same time. This is not easy in a place where she is being constantly stared at for being a foreigner and where everything she does is predicated and pre-judged by this fact.

While studying painting she meets Chenxi, a local Chinese teenager who is employed to translate for her. However, they inevitably fall in love, although it is one of the rockiest and least smooth relationships in the history of literature, as there are innumerate obstacles placed in their way - not the least of which are Helen's obdurate father and his fistfuls of money, and Chenxi's rebellious streak, which keeps him in constant trouble with the communist government.

The novel heats up nicely towards the end after simmering through the first half. There is a big crescendo at the end in which all manner of bodily refuse hits the fan and Helen realises that her love for Chenxi may not be enough to keep them together in the face of tremendous pressure on both sides.

Overall, I loved this book and am giving it the maximum starrage. If you enjoyed Romeo and Juliet, or are interested in pursuing your dreams, give this book a burl. You won't regret it. Five stars.

From Hiragana through the nuances of conversational speech-this book contains it all. Its weakness lies only in its age and the slight outdatedness of the text. Also, the author is Italian and in some of his translations are a little bit off (the Romance languages interpretation of the adjective "expensive" as meaning "dear.)

For that I recommend this book to any Japanese learner from an established beginner student through advanced, any student who can differentiate between the levels of politeness and some phrases and structures that are out of date.

But it's an amazing comprehensive friend to guide the student through the study of Japanese language.

There are very few, if any, other books like this one. Regardless of your field of science or engineering, you will find extremely useful technical vocabulary here. One can take conventional Japanese classes for years and never come across even simple words like "equation" or "axis", all of which you will learn here. Written by PhD engineers, the book uses numerous written examples to put all the vocab into context.

Nicholas Furlong has compiled the most accurate account of the life of Dermot MacMurrough that I have come by yet. I have always been confused and angered that in all other accounts of MacMurrough's life, the essential explanation of Brehon Law is missing. Furlong does this perfectly and the only complaint about the book that I have is that it was too short.

This book can make you smile, cry and wonder. It's one of the greatest pieces of Fiction from India.
A Must buy for anyone who enjoys moving stories