[]
Best. State. Ever.
  • Published: 15 September 2017
  • ISBN: 9781101982617
  • Imprint: Putnam
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $49.99
Categories:

Best. State. Ever.

A Florida Man Defends His Homeland

Formats & editions
Paperback
15 Sept 2017
EBook
6 Sept 2016
Buy from…
The Nile Mighty Ape BookHub Whitcoulls The Warehouse Paper Plus Fishpond Book Hero Unity Books University Book Shop Find Local Retailers

A New York Times bestseller -- a brilliantly funny exploration of the Sunshine State from the man who knows it best: Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Barry.

A New York Times bestseller—a brilliantly funny exploration of the Sunshine State from the man who knows it best: Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Barry.

We never know what will happen next in Florida. We know only that, any minute now, something will. Every few months, Dave Barry gets a call from some media person wanting to know, “What the hell is wrong with Florida?” Somehow, the state's acquired an image as a subtropical festival of stupid, and as a loyal Floridian, Dave begs to differ.

Join him as he goes in hunt of the legendary Skunk Ape; hobnobs with the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs; and visits Cassadaga, the psychic capital of the world, to have his dog's aura read (apparently, she's "very spiritual"). Hitch a ride for the non-stop thrills of alligator-wrestling ("the gators display the same fighting spirit as a Barcalounger"), the hair-raising spectacle of a clothing-optional bar in Key West, and the manly manliness of the Machine Gun Experience in Miami.

It's the most hilarious book yet from “the funniest damn writer in the whole country” (Carl Hiaasen, and he should know). By the end, you'll have to admit that whatever else you might think about Florida—you can never say it's boring.
  • Published: 15 September 2017
  • ISBN: 9781101982617
  • Imprint: Putnam
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $49.99
Categories:

About the author

Dave Barry

From 1983 to 2004, Dave Barry wrote a weekly humor column for The Miami Herald, which in 1988 won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. He is the author of more than thirty books, including such bestsellers as the nonfiction Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer Is Much Faster), You Can Date Boys When You're Forty, and I'll Mature When I'm Dead; the novels Big Trouble, Tricky Business, and Insane City; the very successful YA Peter Pan novels (with Ridley Pearson); and his Christmas story The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog. Two of his books—Big Trouble and Dave Barry's Guide to Guys—have been turned into movies. For a while, his life was even a television series, Dave's World, but then it was canceled. The series. Not the life. For many years, Dave was also a guitarist with the late, infamous, and strangely unlamented band the Rock Bottom Remainders.
portrait photo of Dave Barry

Also by Dave Barry

You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About
Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Faster)
You Can Date Boys When You're Forty
Insane City
Lunatics
Dave Barry Slept Here
Homes and Other Black Holes
See all

Praise for Best. State. Ever.

Praise for Best. State. Ever.:
"A side-splitting read...with a guffaw on every page, a wealth of detail and a cocktail of irreverence, you might call Barry's look at Florida a tour de farce. A loving and ribald look at a weird and wonderful place." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Laugh-out-loud...Dave Barry has made a career of writing about the wackier aspects of life, and especially many offbeat aspects of living in Florida. His latest book is a step toward repaying that debt after a career of feasting off the absurdities of life in the Sunshine State." -- Associated Press

Praise for Best. State. Ever.:
"A side-splitting read...with a guffaw on every page, a wealth of detail and a cocktail of irreverence, you might call Barry's look at Florida a tour de farce. A loving and ribald look at a weird and wonderful place." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Laugh-out-loud...Dave Barry has made a career of writing about the wackier aspects of life, and especially many offbeat aspects of living in Florida. His latest book is a step toward repaying that debt after a career of feasting off the absurdities of life in the Sunshine State." -- Associated Press