Xenophobe's Guide to the Kiwis

I bought this as a humorous overview for my American girlfriend to read to perhaps explain some of my passions and idiosyncrasies as well as prepare her for a visit to NZ. I'm not disappointed by anything written in the book and hardly find anything in it terribly critical - if anything it underplays our OCD with beating Australia in Rugby & Cricket, and the national distaste for politicians, try-hards and wannabes. Buy this confident that it will raise some smiles and deliver some real, informal insight into our national psyche

Good overall information on what today's New Zealanders think about a myriad of topics ranging across politics, food, traditions, and being victorious in all encounters with their Oz neighbors.

I read this before going to New Zealand. It helped me understand some of the quirks of Kiwi culture and enjoy my trip.

What a great book and peek into the culture! It really helped me start conversations with locals and learn about Kiwis. I'll be picking up the other Xenophobe guides for sure!

Filled with witty remarks and cliches as all other xenophobe guides. Definitely recommend to anyone interested to learn,ore about New Zealanders

This is very entertaining, and gives me great insight into my husband and his strange ways, which sometimes seem absolutely mad! Thank you!

Funny and amazingly on target. Get this one.

As a globe-trotting Kiwi who unfortunately left their copy behind when changing continents and came on here to replace it, I can only recommend the book. I loved it and only disagreed with one minor point. Other than that, it was spot on. It pokes fun at our national foibles while highlighting some of our national strengths in a balanced and clear way. The first time I read it I alternated wry grins with sheepish smiles and outright laughs.Good stuff.

I have lived in New Zealand for 24 years and the 33% of the "book" I have read made me feel I am reading about a foreign country!

Brilliant, hilarious, insightful. Shame it’s so short.

I was a ‘kilted kiwi’ to use the rugby term for a few years so bought the book to see if my views on little ole Godzone tallied up.Fair to say they did, esp the ‘fair go’ bit as my work used to say ‘give it a go’ every time I came up with an idea!

This is a really well-ordered book, divided into categories, which makes it nice and simple to read, as you feel that you can read one section at a time and not have to read pages and pages before stopping. It's very interesting, but the oddly-coloured pages make it feel like it's probably from the 1980s...is it?Also, be aware that it's not a big book at all, it's A5 size and about 1cm thick, so not very big at all. Still, it's a good ready, particularly for the price, and it has certainly given me a lot of points to investigate about NZ.

Having recently spent a month visiting Auckland and touring North Island, I wish that I had read this before I travelled. It reflects many of the things that I came across and the attitudes that we came across. A very, very good book which I shall babying for my son who has just married a Kiwi girl and live in Auckland. A very good read