Dear M,
Francis,
Hope you're safe and enjoying your new adventure. I purchased your book on the Hidden Europe (Eastern Europe) some years ago and recently just finished it. I learned a lot or at least got a perspective that I didn't have before as I haven't traveled to Europe. One thing I did enjoy is that you actually stick your neck out and take a position or give your opinion on things without too much regard of what people think. Seems like today most people don't share how they really feel for lack of offending someone but I think we learn best when people share openly. It doesn't mean we have to agree with the person but it's refreshing to actually get a real answer from someone for a change. Anyway, I am saying this to compliment you because there are certainly things in the book that I couldn't believe I was reading as I rarely hear people speak so forthright and much less put it in writing. Some may not like it but others like me will always appreciate you being honest with yourself and others. Well, I wanted to write you because I have two questions I was hoping you could shed some light on.
1. Is there a writer you would recommend that writes about Western Europe the way you did about Eastern Europe? I'd like to learn more about Western Europe but most of what I know is from history books and I like your approach way more!
2. This is a biggie for me and something I have thought about extensively. I do not know whether to study French, German, or Russian. I'm an American and know Spanish so this would be a third language. Not sure if it's even worth it learning one of those mentioned above. However, I can't even decide between them. What are your thoughts on them since you already know French and have been around most of Europe which is my main interest and why I have chosen those above if I was to learn another one. Any thoughts you can shed would be much appreciated. There is a lot going on in Europe at the moment which will probably affect its trajectory and hopefully you will incorporate that into your answer. But I guess in some ways since you know English, French, and Spanish. Imagine that French was taken away from you and you just had English and Spanish. You knew what you know now about Europe and life in general, which one of those above would you take on and why?
Thank you in advance.
Best regards,
-M
First, thank you for letting me know that you like my book and for taking my opinions in the right way. Yes, the politically correct police discourage such bold writing, and I'm glad you support it, even if you don't always agree with my conclusions - I never expected anyone to agree with everything I wrote. So thank you for appreciating my writing style. Now let's answer your two questions:
1) I love Bill Bryson. Even though it was written 30 years ago, you might want to read his book Neither Here Nor There, which is almost entirely about his travels in Western Europe. I'd give it 4/5 stars.
Although I don't try to copy his style, you may notice some similarities. For example, I admire how he injects humor in his writing. My humor is more crass/American while his is more sophisticated, European, and subtle. He also likes to mix personal experiences with interesting facts. Perhaps our main difference is that I tend to stay with and interact more with locals than he does. We're not clones, but you should, at least, try to the free sample of his book.
2. It's unclear why you want to learn a third language and where you plan to live/travel. You imply that you want to travel/live in Western Europe. Regardless, unless you want to live or spend a lot of time in Germany, I would not learn German. Mark Twain penned The Awful German Language for a reason.
Seriously, the main reason to not learn German is that most Germans speak English - at least far better than most French/Russians.
Furthermore, French and Russian are far more pervasive tongues. Half of Africa speaks French. About 20 countries in Eurasia speak Russian. German is far less spoken than those two.
About 170 million people speak French and about the same number speak Russian. Only 86 million speak German - and many of them can speak English.
In conclusion, given your mastery of Spanish and that you're probably more interested in Francophone countries than Russian ones, then I'd learn French. As a Romance language, you'll find it far easier to learn than Russian - and you won't have to learn a new alphabet. So unless you're planning to hang out with lots of Russophones, focus on French.
Lastly, you since you enjoyed reading about what Eastern Europeans can teach us, perhaps now you should read my 5-part "Defending America Series", which shamelessly defends America against the common criticisms that Europeans have against Americans.