Dave Barry Is from Mars and Venus - Softcover

Dave Barry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0345425782 ISBN 13: 9780345425782

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 1998

Synopsis

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?

About this title

Review:

"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 the Back Cover:

"Reading Barry with another person in the room invariably elicits one of two responses: 'What's so funny?' or 'For God's sake, shut up.' "
--The New York Times

"QUOTING BARRY IS LIKE EATING PEANUTS. . . . ONCE YOU GET STARTED IT'S AWFULLY HARD TO STOP."
--The Washington Post

"These down-to-earth observations on topics as random as men's fashion, dogsledding, and reincarnation are a hoot."
--People

"The introduction on how the book got its title is worth the price alone. . . . You'll laugh outright."
--Atlanta Journal & Constitution

About this edition

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0345425782
• ISBN 13: 9780345425782
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272