Best. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland by Dave Barry ISBN: 1101982608
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on September 6th 2016
Genres: Humorous, Memoir
Pages: 256
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
A brilliantly funny exploration of the Sunshine State from the man who knows it best: Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times–bestselling author 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. Sure, there was the 2000 election. And people seem to take their pants off for no good reason. And it has flying insects the size of LeBron James. But it is a great state, and Dave is going to tell you why. Join him as he celebrates Florida from Key West at the bottom to whatever it is that’s at the top, from the Sunshine State’s earliest history to the fun-fair of weirdness and gunfire (“Our motto: ‘Come back! We weren’t firing at you!’”) that it is today. 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.
Dave Barry is one of my favorite authors, one that I have spent money to hear speak. I have never laughed so hard in my whole life. I think I have read everything he has written, especially when I could follow his columns online. Thank You, internet!
His latest work is more of full chapters rather than short essays. He highlights exactly what makes Florida unique. If you need any more thoughts on this, just start following @_FloridaMan on twitter. There are no trendy Disneyfied hot spots, only the weird and almost forgotten roadside attractions. I have been to several of these since my mother lived in Florida when many of these places were being developed. I highly recommend a visit to Gatorland. We spent many hours there when my son was small and his favorite animal on earth was the alligator.
Other places of interest include a visit to a place that lets you shoot machine guns, which leaves him breathless and feeling “like a man” among other things. He also covers the places that have been over-protected and forcing families that once made their living in the back roads to seek new fortunes elsewhere. I think my favorite was his trip to the retirement community where it sounds like a party every night.
