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The Undutchables: An Observation of the Netherlands, Its Culture And Its Inhabitants | 
 enlarge | Authors: Colin White, Laurie Boucke
Creators: Rusty Haller, Gerald Fried
Publisher: White-Boucke Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $12.15
You Save: $2.85 (19%)
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Rating:  64 reviews
Sales Rank: 46685
Media: Paperback
Edition: 5
Pages: 316
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1888580321
Dewey Decimal Number: 949.2073
EAN: 9781888580327
ASIN: 1888580321
Publication Date: December 2005
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| Customer Reviews: Read 59 more reviews...
 often funny, but a bit narrow-minded April 24, 2006
B. Janssen (HEERLEN, Limburg Netherlands)
41 out of 64 found this review helpful
As a Dutchman who has seen lots of different cultures (America, Australia, several European countries), it's amusing to see how others see us.
It was very funny at times, but as stated before it was also bashing at many times.
The one thing that I got a problem with, is when information is incorrect; if you don't know alot about a subject, don't write a lot about it as if you DO know, because that's a little insulting. For instance that the Dutch language comes from German; absolutely insulting and extremely incorrect. The writer obviously didn't do his homework. Dutch is a Germanic language, but so is French, and is French anything like German? I think not. Dutch is completely different too, and it is definately NOT easy for Germans to speak Dutch or vice versa.
As a matter of fact (no offence to my German neighbors, but I have to mention something about the war)during the war Germans were hiding here and pretending to be Dutch, but they caught them by letting people pronounce the word SCHEVENINGEN (a city near The Hague), and it's impossible for Germans to pronounce this word correct (also impossible for English people), so that's how they were caught.
Also the bit about child raising is very exaggerated. Yes we believe in the freedom of kids to explore their own ways, but we won't allow our kids to smear dirt on other peoples coat without correcting them, that's BS. Maybe he did experience that, but then it's an isolated incident, and it is then wrong to say every kid in the Netherlands gets this kind of raising.
I also found the book not exactly about the whole Dutch culture, but more of the northern culture.
Our tiny country has 12 provinces, 2 of them are named Holland (north and south).
What many foreigners dont know, is that our country has only one name THE NETHERLANDS; it is often refered to as Holland, but again that's incorrect, Holland is a province not a country, it is a province of the country The Netherlands.
This mistake has been made for centuries; since the provinces of Holland got great fame during the Golden ages, and Amsterdam (North Holland) became very important in that time, as well as Rotterdam (south Holland). And because the main international traffic went through those provinces, they always refered to it as Holland, and now they still refer to the whole country by saying Holland, which is incorrect.
This is not mentioned in the book surprisingly.
And like all the 50 states of the US have different people with different habits, our 12 provinces are different too. I live in Limburg (home of the Limburger cheese), and the people here are completely different than the people in Holland, but unfortunately Limburg isn't mentioned in the book.
Many Dutch people split the country in 2, it is horizontally divided by 3 main rivers, and people always speak about the people "above the rivers" and underneath.
Underneath the rivers the people are very hospitable, giving and caring, above the rivers people are pretty cheap and stingy; and it's there where you come by during dinner time, and not get invited to join dinner as well; underneath the rivers you will be stuffed with food until you can't walk anymore. My point is, the book is a narrowminded view of the provinces of Holland, not the rest of the country. (We even got big modern toilets in the south, haha).
It was funny though to read about the upperdeck in our toilets; I never knew that was a Dutch thing, but as I thought of it, I indeed never saw an upperdeck abroad, haha.
The traffic things were quite correct too, and very funny to be confronted with it. Also the public transfer behaviour were quite accurate, and again funny to read.
All and all, a funny book, but don't take it too seriously and please don't let it influence you in a negative way about the people and culture. If you wanna know for sure, just drop by, and see for yourself.
 Don't Waste Your Time or Your Money March 13, 2004
David Harris (Kuwait University)
40 out of 61 found this review helpful
My problems with this book are many, and they start with the title. Generally a pun has a point. Is there some connection between the Untouchables and the Dutch? If so, it certainly wasn't made evident to me. In like manner, every 10-15 pages, for no clear reason, the authors launch into a "presumably poetic phrase packed with powerful alliterative punch." One wonders if they're gearing up to release the next edition all in rhyme. Also, the term "Cloggy" seems to have been coined in an effort to make Dutch bashing easier. After all, there's nothing like a one- or two-syllable pejorative to help those clever insults to fly off the tongue just like birdsong! Just ask the propoganda artists who invented the terms "Kraut," "Dego", "Nigger", "Raghead" and "Jap" and the nasty jokes to go along with them.Their observations on the Dutch language are completely flawed. Dutch is not a form of German but rather a Germanic language in its own right just like English, Frisian, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. Dubbing it a form of German implies that it has the same general character of German, which isn't true. It's a unique language with its own personality. And it's no more influenced by English and French than any other Western European language. But my main problem with the book is that it seems to be more of an Ameri-centric look at one part of the rest of the world than it is about life in Holland. I am an American who has lived abroad many times and in many countries, so I'm very familiar with the typical complaints Americans have about foreign places. And they're all in here. For example, the authors have a great deal to say about the oddities of Dutch toilets. One can't help but wonder how they failed to notice that no other country has toilets like those in America/Canada or, at least, didn't until very recently. If you are visiting Holland for the first time and you want to actively seek reasons to dislike everything about the place when you get there, then, by all means, buy this book. For every twenty pages or so of mean-spirited Dutch bashing, the authors throw in a paragraph (or maybe only a sentence) grudgingly congratulating the Dutch on some obscure trait or invention. Otherwise, it's pretty much chock full of tedious lists of how you should act to fit in with your wacky/greedy/stupid "Cloggy" hosts and insults regarding their "idiotic" birthday song and their inability to behave in orderly ways in public and, of course, their silly activism. If the authors think the Dutch are weird, boy would they find it difficult to live in Kuwait where I, a US citizen, am living and working or, especially, India, where I just spent a three-week vacation! In closing, I think the nice words that the Dutch typically have for this book aren't surprising. What do you do when you've been attacked in so mean-spirited a way? It's pretty much a lose-lose situation. If you complain, you may prove their point in some readers' eyes, but if you don't, people will just assume what they say is true. But, clearly, most Netherlanders have felt that responding in the spirit of good will was the best approach. As the Australians say, Good on them!
 Informative and hilarious October 4, 2001
Graham Hamer (ACHERES France)
33 out of 40 found this review helpful
I spent three years in The Netherlands and The Undutchables was given to me as an introduction to the culture. What a valuable book it is too! You learn, for a start that the Dutch are like the Scottish with the generosity beaten out of them. In fact, it's not strictly true, but they certainly are 'careful' with their money. Then you learn the secret art of bicycle stealing (it's a national pastime over there). After that, the joys of trying to climb the world's steepest stairs and squeeze into the world's smallest lavatories. Talk about a culture shock!But The Undutchables is also a mine of useful information. Did you know that the Dutch for 'penniless' is 'krap'? Or that 'fat' is 'dik'? And that, if you go to a bar and ask for a 'prik', you'll get a tonic water? Told you it was useful! This is a great guide, and a great way to get to know the Dutch culture. My years in The Hague were happy years and I grew to love and admire these hardy people. Get yourself a copy of The Undutchables and see what I mean.
The truth hurts sometimes December 7, 1999
24 out of 25 found this review helpful
Being Dutch and not having lived there for 25 years, I had to get this book when I heard of it. It was money well spend. I laughed so hard sometimes that I cried. I bought a copy for my mother who still lives in the Netherlands, she didn't think it was very funny, but I told her that the truth hurts sometimes. I still go back "home" on a regular basis with my family and after reading this book I look at my fellow Dutchmen through different glasses. My husband is American, he read the book and says that he sees some of those things in me, so even after 25 years I'm still Dutch and proud of it. The book is great fun, but you have to have a sense of humor and take it with a grain of salt. I recommend the book to anyone who is Dutch or who knows someone Dutch.
An absolute must-read! March 24, 2000
Sarah Hainley (Irving, Texas United States)
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
Two days ago, I returned from my 4th trip to the Netherlands in the last year. My boyfriend is Dutch, and while I was there, one of his friends gave me this book. I laughed so hard I nearly cried (especially with the part about Dutch toilets-how true it is!). My Dutch friends are always telling me, "If it ain't Dutch, it ain't much!" and even they found this book to be an almost completely accurate portrayal of themselves and their society. After spending as much time there as I have, I can tell you honestly that the Dutch are a very unique people, but incredibly endearing as well. Their idiosyncracies will grow on you, and this book uncovers them all!
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