Wicked German

And you will love this book! Keep in mind: It is not meant to instruct anyone on how to speak to real-life Germans...it is simply a sarcastic, harmless fun-poking bit of dry humor. If one was silly enough to actually try and use this, he/she might end up with their "hazelnuts in a vise". I live in Germany and have let my German friends take a look at it just to guage their opinions. The result? The humor doesn't translate and they just don't "get it"---they find it neither insulting nor funny. So just loosen up, enjoy it for what it is and realize that complaints that it's not a 'real' book are useless and moot. Enjoy! Tschuss! Love and Belly Laughs, TH

A very funny little German book that is as much a satire on the language, Germans, and travel in general as a phrasebook. Although only 64 pages, it packs a lot of humor and entertainment into this small package. Some of the phrases are truly funny. To give you a sampling of some of what's in the book, here are a few examples. In the chapter on Clothing I found "Diese Hosen sind einfach ummerfend." (These lederhosen are hilarious!) In the chapter on dealing with policemen, there was "Ich muste sie naturlich von der Strasse rammen." (I had to run him off the road, of course). In the chapter on "Words of Love and Pastry," there was "Ich mochte in Ihren Gugelhopf beissen." (I want to bite your Bundt cake). And in the chapter, "The Wurst of the Wurst," there was "Habe ich erwahnt das ich mich entschlossen Vegetarier su weiden?" (Did I mention that I've decided to become a vegetarian?). The book is devided into 38 sections of a page or two, each with its own funny phrases. The book is mostly phrases and sentences, but there are a few funny words highlighted too. There is also a humorous two-page "fractured" history and timeline of beer, which has entries like, "1516--The German Purity Law is written ro protect the quality of beer. Anyone caught drinking a Coors is spanked to death by a 300-pound barmaid." Even the chapter and section titles are humorous, such as "Surviving German Romanticism," and "Grimm Tales of the Black Forest."If you liked this book I can also recommend "Scheisse!: The Real German You Were Never Taught in School," by Gertrude Besserwisser, which covers all the funniest and most outrageous German curses, epithets, slang, and other phrases of dubious parentage and gentility. For example, I learned that saying "BMW" doesn't just mean the name of a car, it also refers to a woman who is not especially well-endowed, since it's from "Brett mit Warzen," or "a board with warts." But a lot of the book wouldn't be repeatable here, so I'll have to leave it at that and urge you to get the book yourself if you're interested.

This book was totally cool!!! I absolutely loved the weirdness of the phrases and how they were all evidence of the German culture. If you love weird stuff and have a definite interest in Germany, you must definitely check this book out. Have fun laughing. I read it to my Austrian friend auf Deutsch and she laughed at the weirdness of what I was saying. Have fun!!!

Always on-target and good for a lot of laughs, my copy is now circulating around the office amongst the staff, both German and foreign. Chrysler had better order a few thousand copies.... Honestly, you can learn a bit without even realizing it.

This book is well worth its very small price. The author knows his stuff and provides excellent insight into the German mindset (and some only-slightly-exaggerated German history) while brutally poking fun at it. I'd heartily recommend this book for any German speaker who has been to Germany for even the briefest of visits. It made me want to go back! Non-German speaking travelers could definitely profit from learning these key phrases.