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."


From Publishers Weekly
A distinctly minor effort by the Miami Herald columnist and author of such previous successes as Dave Barry's Greatest Hits , this guide works too hard for comic effect. There are strained references to inedible airline food, a "Five Booger" ranking from the "Michelin Guide to How Snotty a Restaurant Is," Chicago as "The City with a Great Big Butt." There are tired gags, one involving the translation of a phrase about "the fish of your brother Raoul" and another about using the same map for downtown Vienna, London and Berlin. But the book is not completely devoid of laughs: "Akron: Meeting Yesterday's Challenges Tomorrow" is cited as a typical article from an airline magazine. There is a clever parody of a highway historical marker; and a discussion of the problem of locating a tree in Oregon that doesn't have an ecologist wrapped around it. The book, however, is hardly sidesplitting. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Holder of a Pulitzer for funny commentary, Barry (Dave Barry Slept Here, 1989) follows the footsteps of Baedeker and Marco Polo and offers a travel book that is more current and just as useful. In a time-honored and noble tradition of comical assessments of the world away from home, Barry presents a light text, augmented with the customary cheesy charts, footnotes, and diagrams. (Maybe it's just coincidence, but the handy street-maps of Cairo, London, Berlin or Munich [one map], Vienna, Paris, and downtown Ireland all appear alarmingly similar.) There's advice on planning a trip (the author differs from his wife about packing a waffle iron), foreign languages, air travel, family travel (the best time to visit Disney World: 1962), and camping. There's a guide to all fifty states, Canada, and Mexico. Then there are also foreign countries, located in Europe. (See ``How to Use a Bidet.'') ``Most of these countries,'' Barry astutely points out, ``eventually realized the marketing advantage of not being so foreign.'' Little-known foreign fact: ``England manufactures most of the world's airline food.'' Filled with shameless fabrication (we happen to know, because we checked the road atlas we got from the insurance company, that Alaska is not in Canada, for example), but Barry's lies, like all good comedy, are emblematic of some kind of truth or other. Besides, ``you can trust us,'' he says. ``We're a guidebook.'' The title is accurate. Get this travel guide and you'll never want another. Funny stuff. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description

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



From the Publisher

Let me just admit this right now: I'm a biased Dave Barry reader. We share the same alma mater--Haverford College. Needless to say, the students there are pretty proud of Dave, and whenever he happens to mention his college years in one of his columns, it gets passed around the campus faster than a beer funnel. Unfortunately, there are no mentions of Haverford College in this book.

But for you, the average reader, who doesn't thrill at seeing that little-known college mentioned in print, I think it's safe to say that this book has everything you could ask for in a travel guide (I still think it could have used a "Small Colleges Outside Philadelphia" section, but Barry's editor just didn't agree). Where else could you find a such helpful sections as "How to Use a Bidet" and "Where Nature is Located" ?

I always look forward to the publication of a new Dave Barry book, because it means that I get to spend time at work laughing my head off. If we were all so lucky, I think this world would be a much better place. Well, at least there'd be a lot more hearty guffaws coming from your bosses' office.

--Cassie Nylen, Copy Assistant


From the Inside Flap
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


About the Author
Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Miami Herald. He is the author of numerous bestsellers, including the recent Dave Barry Is from Mars and Venus. He lives in Miami, Florida.

ANNOTATION

It took no time at all for Barry's travel guide to travel onto hardcover bestseller lists. Traveling into trade paperback, it's just in time to make a connection with the new hardcover, Dave Barry Does Japan. From the backroads of America to seeing the exotic sights of Europe, everything from air travel to camping is covered in this hilarious outing by the Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"[Dave Barry] is one of the funniest people ever to tap tap on a PC. This new book is a riot."
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Complete with maps, histories, quaint local facts, song lyrics, helpful hints on how to get through Customs, and tidbits from Dave Barry's own fond vacation nightmares, here is all you really need to know about travel, including: How to Speak a Foreign Language in Just 30 Minutes Without Necessarily Having Any Idea What You Are Talking About; Camping: Nature's Way of Promoting the Motel Industry; See the USA First! (While We Still Own Part of It), and more!

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A distinctly minor effort by the Miami Herald columnist and author of such previous successes as Dave Barry's Greatest Hits , this guide works too hard for comic effect. There are strained references to inedible airline food, a ``Five Booger'' ranking from the ``Michelin Guide to How Snotty a Restaurant Is,'' Chicago as ``The City with a Great Big Butt.'' There are tired gags, one involving the translation of a phrase about ``the fish of your brother Raoul'' and another about using the same map for downtown Vienna, London and Berlin. But the book is not completely devoid of laughs: ``Akron: Meeting Yesterday's Challenges Tomorrow'' is cited as a typical article from an airline magazine. There is a clever parody of a highway historical marker; and a discussion of the problem of locating a tree in Oregon that doesn't have an ecologist wrapped around it. The book, however, is hardly sidesplitting. (Oct.)

Kirkus Reviews

Holder of a Pulitzer for funny commentary, Barry (Dave Barry Slept Here, 1989) follows the footsteps of Baedeker and Marco Polo and offers a travel book that is more current and just as useful. In a time-honored and noble tradition of comical assessments of the world away from home, Barry presents a light text, augmented with the customary cheesy charts, footnotes, and diagrams. (Maybe it's just coincidence, but the handy street-maps of Cairo, London, Berlin or Munich [one map], Vienna, Paris, and downtown Ireland all appear alarmingly similar.) There's advice on planning a trip (the author differs from his wife about packing a waffle iron), foreign languages, air travel, family travel (the best time to visit Disney World: 1962), and camping. There's a guide to all fifty states, Canada, and Mexico. Then there are also foreign countries, located in Europe. (See "How to Use a Bidet.") "Most of these countries," Barry astutely points out, "eventually realized the marketing advantage of not being so foreign." Little-known foreign fact: "England manufactures most of the world's airline food." Filled with shameless fabrication (we happen to know, because we checked the road atlas we got from the insurance company, that Alaska is not in Canada, for example), but Barry's lies, like all good comedy, are emblematic of some kind of truth or other. Besides, "you can trust us," he says. "We're a guidebook." The title is accurate. Get this travel guide and you'll never want another. Funny stuff.