Günter Wallraff

I finally picked up a copy of this classic work of German investigative journalism. It is a great, shocking and funny read about the Panglossian adventures of a fake-Turkish immigrant in poverty at the rock bottom of society. Beside the absolute horror of neglect and disregard of labor and health standards of even large companies during the 1980s in Germany, Wallraff never fails to discover the absurd and funny moments of his wrecked existence. His completely gratuitous attempt in joining the Catholic church and the shocked reaction of the clergy about this over-eager disciple is great comedy. The underlying racism and discrimination is all too real, however. While the inner unionized workers are obviously aware of the abuse going on, they actively collude with the management against the so-called "others". As always, such dreadful behavior can only be broken if the responsible managers, currently sheltered behind a host of shell companies and forged records, are put behind prison bars. Nearly thirty years later, it remains an important and still relevant book that is both shocking and a pleasure to read. Highly recommended.… (more)