Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need

TAKE YOUR TRAVEL TIPS FROM DAVE BARRY,

A GUY WHO IS REALLY GONE!

Complete with maps, histories, quaint local facts (France's National Underwear Changing Day is March 12), song lyrics, helpful hints on how to get through Customs (all insects must be spayed), and tidbits from Dave Barry's own fond vacation nightmares, DAVE BARRY'S ONLY TRAVEL GUIDE YOU'LL EVER NEED is just that. You'll find everything you need to know in this incredibly comprehensive reference, including:

- Air Travel (Or: Why Birds Never Look Truly Relaxed)

- Traveling as a Family (Or: No, We Are NOT There Yet)

- Traveling in Europe ("Excuse me! Where is the Big Mona Lisa?")

- Camping: Nature's Way of Promoting the Motel Industry

Dave describes the dark side of tourism with such comical precision that you'll wonder why you ever bother to leave the safety of your living room. For my money, nobody has ever produced a better snapshot of the Baggage Carousel, "where passengers traditionally gather at the end of a flight to spend several relaxing hours watching the arrival of luggage from some other flight, which comes randomly spurting out of a mysterious troll-infested tunnel that is apparently connected to another airport, possibly in a different dimension."

My Rating: 3 stars

Brief Summary: A goofy book about travel (both domestic and international) by popular funnyman Dave Barry. My personal favorite part was his description of the fifty states and their highlights.

Brief Thoughts: If you've ever read a Dave Barry book, I suspect you know exactly what this book is like already. This was a fun "bathroom" read, and I neither highly recommend this book or don't recommend it. It is what it is.

I enjoyed this book very much or, at least I think I will if I ever receive it. In a temporary fit of stupidity, I selected "standard shipping" and Amazon sent the book via USPS as a punishment for not selecting their reasonably priced $35.00 charge for sending this book 2nd Day Air via a reliable delivery service like UPS. Don't get me wrong, everyone on the cul-de-sac likes our USPS delivery person, we all agree on that point each time we meet in the middle of the street to exchange mail and packages delivered to the wrong address by this dedicated employee of the Postal Service.

And our USPS guy does reflect the high standards of the Postal Service, he smiles and waves each time he sees you - and that's in contrast to the UPS guy who just delivers your Amazon package promptly to your doorstep, knocks on your door to let you know he dropped off your package and them scuries off to deliver other packages. Our USPS guy does have some minor problems, like not being able to read addresses properly, dropping your package off somewhere in your garage (he lets himself in without bothering you) and having a poor sense of direction (he once got lost in the back of his tiny delivery truck - the one with the steering wheel on the wrong side).

So, enjoy this book as much as I hope I will if I ever receive it - it's only been 10 days on the road and should arrive very soon. And if you're thinking of buying it, do so but don't begrudge Amazon their modest fee of $35.00 which avoids the USPS service and actually delivers this very funny book sometime before the first snowfall this coming winter. P. S. I like Amazon very much, may their profits always be outrageous.

Dave Barry is the funniest writer I've ever read, and this is one of his top two books - the other being Dave Barry Slept Here. This mock Travel Guide is Dave Barry at the peak of his comic genius.

This is one of those books that I read in just one or two sittings. It was that good (and that short). Anytime a friend or loved one of mine is going on vacation or traveling for business, I encourage them to read this book prior to their departure. They almost never do, but that's their loss.

Most critics will agree that this is Barry's best book (followed closely by "Greatest Hits"). Of the Barry titles that I have read, I would tend to agree. It's very cohesive and contains illustrations that add a dash of extra hilarity to his writing.

The section where he details every state in the USA (They're Progressive!) is worth the cover price. The way he details foreign countries that he has (and hasn't) visited are hilarious as he tends to play a lot on stereotypes, but I would read the designated section for visiting any of them to see if I agree.

If you've read anything by Dave Barry before, you know what you are going to get. A quick read, a lot of laughs, and a desire for more.

Also recommended: "Dave Barry's Greatest Hits" & "Dave Barry is Not Making this Up."

You have to pay attention to a book dedicated to Wilbur and Orville

Wright, "without whom air sickness would still be just a dream" . . . that

certainly Caught my attention, as did just about everything else in DAVE

BARRY'S ONLY TRAVEL GUIDE YOU'LL EVER NEED.

I particularly liked this guide's candor . . . as the author notes,

"If I think a country is awful, I'm going to say so, even if I've never

been to this country and know virtually nothing about it."

Every time I read something else by Barry, I wonder if he can

get any funnier . . . yet he somehow manages to keep

me laughing with such observations as the following:

The type of luggage you carry says a lot about you. For example,

if you're carrying somebody else's luggage, it says you're a thief.

If the security personnel do their job properly, they just might cause you

to miss your plane, thereby possibly saving your life.

As you parents know, a small child can go for weeks without going

to the bathroom at home, but once you hit the road it becomes

pretty much a full-time occupation.

We have taken Robert's friends with us on numerous trips, and

we have noted a phenomenon familiar to all parents, namely that you

would have less conflict if you put the entire North and South Korean

arms forces in your backseat, then you get with just two children.

The official state motto of Alaska is "Brrrrrr!"

We eat a lot on long trips because we feel our bodies are less likely

to become bored if they can pass the time converting food into fat.

I listened to a taped version of ONLY TRAVEL GUIDE, which was

made even more enjoyable by the fact that Barry also served as

the narrator . . . his wry sense of humor came through even

more vividly than had I just read the book.