Product Description

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, bestselling author, and Wheel of Fortune contestant Dave Barry exposes the shattering truth. Whether he's splashing with the U.S. sychronized swim team ("Picture a bunch of elegant swans swimming with a flailing sea cow") or reliving the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving ("We've decided to obliterate your culture, but first may we try the stuffing?"), Dave Barry proves that one man can make a difference--by having the guts to answer the questions few people bother to ask:

¸  What makes people want to eat animals they would never consider petting?
¸  Where do the World's Three Most Boring People meet?
¸  Why is Colorado freezing so many human gonads?
¸  And just how does Oprah have the power to turn a 1957 Hotpoint toaster manual into a #1 bestseller?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #375095 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09-14
• Released on: 1998-09-14
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 8.29" h x .59" w x 5.85" l, .47 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From Amazon.com
"Booger." In case you're wondering, that's the title of a winning entry from a parody contest that Dave Barry's flagship paper, the Miami Herald, ran in 1989. There's more to Dave Barry than "boogers," of course--he's the McDonald's of American humor. One, nearly everybody likes him. Two, he's everywhere. Three--and this is the key--when you open one of his books, you know exactly what you're going to get: "Eugene is located in southwest Oregon, approximately 278 billion miles from anything." "If you're looking for a hearty entree that (1) is related to spiders; (2) is descended from a worm; and (3) has mutant baby-poopers walking around on its lips; then you definitely want a lobster." This collection of columns--sure to serve billions and billions--is called Dave Barry Is from Mars and Venus. (Strangely, it isn't a parody of John Gray's series, even though there's nobody better equipped to do one.) Inside you'll find the same genial, absurd fantasies, riffs on clippings that Barry insists he is not making up, and bizarre personal adventures that are his trademark. Do you like hamburgers? Of course--and you'll like this book, too.

From Library Journal
For readers of previous collections of Barry's syndicated columns, there are no surprises here. Enthusiasts will expect?and will find?that the author writes with ease and whimsicality on almost every subject that chances to catch his fancy. And there seems to be nothing too insignificant or casual to attract his attention. If readers dip into the book at random, they may find first his ideas?tongue-in-cheek of course?for eliminating the drug problem in the country. Next they may turn to Barry's reflections on the importance of having visible stomach muscles. Then they may find themselves reading about his views on the National Pretend Speed Limit. Barry is never uproariously funny, but he does set underway delicious trains of chuckles. At a time when so many people are in a chronic state of irritation, suspicion, and mental jaundice, the effect of the book is soothing. It cleans the palate, if not like champagne, then at least like a cool sorbet. Recommended.
-?A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
No, syndicated columnist Barry isn't trying to take over John Gray's franchise (the Mars-and-Venus "solution" to the war between the sexes); he merely covets Gray's place on the best-seller lists. (An introduction discussing other "grabber" titles panderingly considered for this column collection is a hoot!) Having explored guys, gifts, and cyberspace in recent books, Barry covers the waterfront here: he boldly (but foolishly) joins a team of future Olympic synchronized swimmers in the pool in response to a challenge; checks out laser tag; appears on Wheel of Fortune; runs for president; and expresses himself on history, politics, culture, various insects, and the aforementioned war between the sexes in pungent prose, plus occasional poetry and drama. Although Dave's World the CBS sitcom loosely based on the realities (family, friends, Miami Herald column) behind Barry's columns--was not renewed, the show may have expanded the readership for his vaguely twisted brand of humor. Mary Carroll