Wicked Italian

by Howard Tomb

Published 9 January 1989
Wicked Italian is more than a phrasebook con molto brio-it's a cultural survival guide. Put an end to taxi terror, unlock the riddle of museum hours. Forgetful innkeepers snap to when you threaten /allora dormiamo nella lobby ("In that case we will sleep here in the lobby").

Wicked French

by Howard Tomb

Published 9 January 1989
Any French guide can teach you to say J'ai faim! ("I'm starving!"), but only "Wicked French" gives you the je ne sais quoi to hold your own with the natives-argue like a vrai existentialist, cultivate an attitude.

Wicked Greek

by Howard Tomb

Published 6 January 1995
For two thousand years visitors have been touring the rugged glory of Greece. But with a difference--when the early Romans went visiting, those wacky Greek gods were still holed up on Mount Olympus. Today they've come down, and they're driving taxis, tending bar, dancing and yelling and throwing plates around restaurants. All of which spells adventure for the unsuspecting tourist, and wonderful opportunity for Howard Tomb.

From the sneakily successful series of travel books with over 1 million copies in print, Wicked Greek is the phrasebook that takes the chaos out of the land that invented it. Here are pithy comments on retsina: "My wine tastes like a handful of pine needles." Tips on consulting the Oracle of the Ferry Schedules, including the Mystery of the Next Departure to Patmos. More than you ever dreamed possible about olives-including black, green, purple, briny, cracked, and this-makes-the-retsina-taste-good. Trojan War stories. Zeno's Paradox, Aristotle's Boo-Boo, Plato's Cave, and other philosophical conundrums that put us in the fix we're in today. Motorbike survival tips. Ella, word of a thousand meanings. And how to pursue romance with the natives.