The European correspondent for Ireland's RTÉ network, Connelly describes his travels to ten countries in an attempt to determine whether there's any truth to the stereotypes about each country's national character. Unlike some other authors who've tackled this subject, the author actually asks residents of each country whether they think the stereotypes hold water. (Surprisingly often, they do.) Full of sharp observations and much more fun than books by foreign correspondents tend to be, Connelly's effort is well worth reading (if only to find out what Italian left-wingers said about the bandana that Prime Minister Berlusconi's wore after his hair transplant). Distributed in North America by Dufour Editions. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)