Schottenfreude: German Words for the Human Condition

Every book by Ben Schott is a meticulous masterpiece of conception and execution. He's best known for his delightful series of four Miscellanies (Schott's Original Miscellany, Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany, Schott's Sporting, Gaming & Idling Miscellany, and Schott's Quintessential Miscellany) and for his six Almanacs, published annually between 2006 and 2011.Schott's newest book is unlike his previous efforts in that it has an especially specific focus -- invented German words -- but it's very much like the others in that it's so infernally clever, has been so carefully thought out, and possesses a singularly beautiful design. By going to Mr. Schott's website, benschott dot com, and clicking on The New York Times under the Journalism tab, you can link to an excerpt from the book and listen to him talk about it. There you can also read any of the numerous engaging columns he's written for the newspaper."Schottenfreude" is a play on the German word Schadenfreude, which means "shameful joy" or "pleasure derived from the misfortune of others." It's not among the book's 120 indexed entries, but then it's a long-established term that has decisively entered the English language along with such loanwords as Weltanschauung (worldview), Realpolitik (practical politics), Gemütlichkeit (coziness), Wanderlust (desire to travel), Zeitgeist (spirit of the times), Gestalt (whole), and Angst (anxiety). Most of the words in this volume are longer than these examples, some comically so; Kraftfahrzeuginnenaustattungsneugeruchsgenuss, meaning "new car smell," is the longest at 45 letters. They have obviously been contrived by the author, yet they are "real" in the sense that they are perfectly justifiable and creative concatenations of concepts.Such terms result from the nearly unlimited capacity of the German language to form compounds. They are long for good reason: each packs within it a small universe of distinct meanings, encapsulates very particular sets of denotative and connotative senses, and possesses unique emotional and cultural implications. And there is not one in this book that isn't both witty and amusing. A prime example is Gaststattenneueröffnungsuntergangsgewissheit (inn-new-opening-downfall-certitude or "certainty that a newly opened restaurant will fail"), which has 44 letters. On the other hand, several are as short as eight or nine letters, including "Mahlneid" (meal-envy or "coveting thy neighbor's restaurant order"), "Gastdruck" (guest-pressure or "the effort required to be a good houseguest"), and "Betttrug" (bed-deception or "disorientation upon waking in a strange bed").Each entry, printed in a gothic font, provides a guide to pronunciation and a definition. This is followed by an insightful unpacking of the words inside and a detailed annotation, complete with lists, quotations, literary references, and the occasional illustration. The book is an elegant pleasure for book lovers, students of German, and logophiles of all stripes. I highly recommended this glittering intellectual bauble for gift-giving this holiday season, or at any time of the year.

I purchased one for myself and gave one as a gift to my brother. I put mine on my coffee table and like a magnate everybody that comes over picks it up or asks about it. People love going through it and attempting to pronounce the words. I cannot tell you how many conversations I have had about the book. Topics range from how descriptive the German language is to how terrible we are at learning another language.My brother absolutely loved it. His fraternity brothers and he play around with it all the time and from my understanding it has become a running joke in the frat to through round German words. I think this is the prefect gift to give to any adult. It is fun, interesting, and educational. What's not to love?

I bought two of these for gifts for my husband and his friend who enjoy yelling German words. (Strange, I know.) The book is very high quality and has a sturdy feel and looks great sitting on a shelf or table. The contents are very enjoyable to learn and read. My only complaint is the font chose for the presentation of each German word is difficult to read. On the cover, shown in the thumbnails it is fairly easy with the black and silver, but something happens in black on white that hurts my eyes when trying to make out the letters. Fortunately that is such a tiny thing that I will still recommend this book to anyone who has a love of languages and creative use of language. It was also a very fair price!

If you are at all conversant with German, this is a really funny book. I got a copy for my sister, the German teacher, and my son, who took German for many years and is semi-literate in German. They both found it really good. As for me, who does not speak the language, it was still quite amusing.

A Jewish buddy of mine, a writer, claims he's never more aware of what he calls his "judeogringosity" than when he's with his Puerto Rican wife's relatives. This sort of clever wordsmithing fills Schottenfreude, so don't expect actually-in-use gems plucked from the German language. That would be missing the point. Parsing Schott's contrivances, laughing at the literal translations--not all of which are on the mark, in my opinion, but that is part of the fun--reconciling them with the definition, and, most of all, reading the extensive footnotes are what make this book a true joy. As to the contents of the footnotes, the subtitle is most illustrative: "German words for the human condition." Schott quotes famous authors and orators who needed whole sentences or more to explain what Schott can do with no more than a compound word in German. But not just Schott; anyone! I've shared the book with friends and we've had a couple delightful evenings leafing through, criticizing, laughing, and finally becoming wordmakeruppers ourselves. My best in the Schott style so far: Schischuhausziehungsorgasmus.

I got a kick out of this at my friend's house and had to buy.It is fun, usable and a good social game, especially if you live with other people and try to incorporate these into your vocabulary.I did date a German who wanted to be sure I knew they weren't real (as in pre-existing) compound words, but he still thought it was funny.

Ach Du Lieber! What an amazing collection of German words created by the incredible Ben Schott! From the 47 letter German word for "New car smell," to nine letter term for "The exhausting pressure of being a good houseguest," this book is a must have for anyone who has ever studied German, comes from a German heritage, or just loves the magic and power of words. The beautifully designed and bound hardcover book is in a format reminiscent of an old-fashioned photo album or autograph book is an Einartigesbuchliebhabersgeschenk--(one-of-a-kind-booklovers gift.)

Insightful, informed and hilarious publication. Took its time to arrrive but worth the wait

I bought this for my Austrian husband when it first came out. He is a native German speaker and was delighted with it. A writer who didn’t know 80% of the words here, because they are obscure even for native German speakers. Much like the book for English speakers “There’s a Word for That.”It was getting close to Christmas at that point, so my closer co-workers, all native German speakers (I live in Austria) all got a copy. And laughed for DAYS. I now keep a stack of 4-5 copies in case I’m caught short for gifts. Every German speaker I’ve passed it on to has adored it.Personally, I also found it awesome. There’s nothing like knowing obscure vocabulary words when one can barely speak the basics!

This is a very entertaining book. I wish I had created these words myself!

Not well packed - arrived slightly damaged

Neat book.