--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While the Rumanian Radio was serializing…" description: "\"“While the Rumanian Radio was serializing (without my permission) How to be an Alien as an anti-British tract, the Central Office of Information rang m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba4/george-mikes-4493_man-said_while-the-rumanian-radio-was-serializing_1748369.png" --- # While the Rumanian Radio was serializing (without my… ![“While the Rumanian Radio was serializing (without my permission) How to be an Alien as an anti-British tract, the Central Office of Information rang me up here in London and asked me to allow the book to be translated into Polish for the benefit of those many Polish refugees who were then settling…” quote by George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba4/george-mikes-4493_man-said_while-the-rumanian-radio-was-serializing_1748369.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba4/george-mikes-4493_man-said_while-the-rumanian-radio-was-serializing_1748369.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba4/george-mikes-4493_man-said_while-the-rumanian-radio-was-serializing_1748369.png) > ““While the Rumanian Radio was serializing (without my permission) How to be an Alien as an anti-British tract, the Central Office of Information rang me up here in London and asked me to allow the book to be translated into Polish for the benefit of those many Polish refugees who were then settling in this country. ‘We want our friends to see us in this light,’ the man said on the telephone. This was hard to bear for my militant and defiant spirit. ‘But it’s not such a favourable light,’ I protested feebly. ‘It’s a very human light and that is the most favourable,’ retorted the official. I was crushed. A few weeks later my drooping spirit was revived when I heard of a suburban bank manager whose wife had brought this book home to him remarking that she had found it fairly amusing. The gentleman in question sat down in front of his open fire, put his feet up and read the book right through with a continually darkening face. When he had finished, he stood up and said: ‘Downright impertinence.’ And threw the book into the fire. He was a noble and patriotic spirit and he did me a great deal of good. I wished there had been more like him in England. But I could never find another.”” [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing personal conviction with external expectations can be painful, yet small acts of defiance preserve dignity. **In simple terms:** Personal values clash with imposed narratives. Key Takeaway Stand firm in your beliefs. Themes integrity resistance identity Mood reflective serious Type memoir philosophical When to use this quote - journalism - exile - literary translation - personal memoir Key Concepts censorship political pressure Questions to Reflect On - When is it right to compromise? - How do you protect your spirit? A Different Perspective Compromise may be necessary for survival. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“. . . I still hold two truths with equal and fundamental certainty. One: the British did terrible things to the Irish. 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They can face anything, except reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-british-are-brave-people-they-can-face-anything-except-reality/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [The British suffer from a most unfortunate superiority complex - unjustified even under Victoria and most certainly hopelessly out-of-date today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-british-suffer-from-a-most-unfortunate-superiority-complex/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [Remember that those five hundred words an average Englishman uses are far from being the whole vocabulary of the language. 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It is all right to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/an-average-english-house-combines-all-the-curses-of-civilisation-with/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [Australia objects to the mini-skirt not on moral but on economic grounds. Australians are no prudes and the lovely, healthy, sporty Australian girls have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/australia-objects-to-the-mini-skirt-not-on-moral-but-on-economic/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [The Art of Conversation could not die in Australia; it never lived. 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A few weeks later my drooping spirit was revived when I heard of a suburban bank manager whose wife had brought this book home to him remarking that she had found it fairly amusing. The gentleman in question sat down in front of his open fire, put his feet up and read the book right through with a continually darkening face. When he had finished, he stood up and said: ‘Downright impertinence.’ And threw the book into the fire. He was a noble and patriotic spirit and he did me a great deal of good. I wished there had been more like him in England. 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