This is one of my favorite books! Though it is full of information acquired by scholarly observation and experiment, I found it tremendously humorous, and loved all the explanations of why and how the English interact with each other.
A few delightful sections that have stuck in my mind deal with things such as the taboo against breaking into a line and the English stratagems for discouraging anyone who seems intent on committing that cardinal sin, as well as the roundabout ways people are forced to follow to find out about the line of work of a person they have just met. Hint: It would be unthinkable to simply ask outright. The horror!
I expect to read and reread this book at intervals and enjoy it every time.
A few delightful sections that have stuck in my mind deal with things such as the taboo against breaking into a line and the English stratagems for discouraging anyone who seems intent on committing that cardinal sin, as well as the roundabout ways people are forced to follow to find out about the line of work of a person they have just met. Hint: It would be unthinkable to simply ask outright. The horror!
I expect to read and reread this book at intervals and enjoy it every time.
