Best. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland Hardcover – September 6, 2016

I bought this book to get rid of a cough. That is not a typo.I was vacationing in Florida and also had a cough that was going on and on forever. I needed a good book to read on the beach, so I went to a bookstore. Unfortunately, I did not notice the "Florida" section until I was leaving the store, having already purchased Melanie Benjamin's  The Swans of Fifth Avenue: A Novel  (which I read and highly recommend BTW). Dave Barry books took up the largest portion of the Florida section, with Key Lime Cookbooks coming in second, but "Best. State. Ever." was face out and bright yellow, so I noticed it. It looked funny, but since I'd already made my purchase, I left.Later that evening when another coughing spell was due, I thought about the Barry book I'd seen because it occurred to me that I might be able to get rid of my stupid cough by way of a good, lung-clearing laugh session, so I bought the Kindle version right then and there. Although I am not a medical professional, I can tell you that reading this book worked better than any of the OTC remedies I had been using. The laughter provoked an epic cough session that subsequently allowed me to sleep through the night with no coughing whatsoever. And it worked again the next night. Again, I am not a medical professional; I can only tell you what my experience was.There have been parts of a couple of the chapters that did not have the desired effect, and other parts had me laughing so hard that I could barely see the words for the tears in my eyes (I'm keeping that in mind in case my eyes ever need to be flushed out), but for the most part, this book proved that laughter may indeed be the best medicine.I am not making any of this up.

Barry has always been a writer who can make the reader laugh out loud regardless of the subject but when the subject is Florida -- well, he's a master. I lived in Florida and he absolutely nails the way that people from elsewhere react to the crazy stuff that happens in Florida by saying "what is wrong with people down there? or how can you live there?" Trust me when I say that the same thought crosses the minds of most people particularly when a new arrival first becomes a resident, but after awhile the new Floridian just accepts the craziness as part of the deal made for living in south Florida with its mild climate and basically 360 plus days of nice weather -- barring an occasional hellish hurricane. The new residents even adapt to the mostly daily rainstorms and living in the lightening strike capital of the US. Dave's book is funny, witty, clever, and will make you laugh out loud in addition to making you smile when not laughing out loud. Barry isn't "mean" about Florida, Floridians, or people who move in and become Floridians, he's just factual plus when he takes on specific subjects like Weeki Wachee's mermaid show, Gatorland, The Villages, Key West, his visit to a Miami firing range -- he's funny but he also gives an accurate portrait of what they are, represent,and what to expect and he's also a quite fond of it all which means he can laugh at and with his subjects at the same time the details about all of them may make you laugh and cringe simultaneously.It's a funny book and a fast read. Give your brain a break and take this trip with Dave Barry as your guide. Think of it as mind candy.

Dave Barry has been making me laugh for decades! This is his most recent books of laughs!Barry gives us the history of his state (Florida) hint: the people are crazy! Barry holds forth on such topics as:• A Brief History of Florida—letting the reader know just when and where things began to go wrong for the State and how to handle Florida…• The Skunk Ape—Florida’s odoriferous version of everyone’s favorite cryptid, Bigfoot, is loose in the Swamps of Florida—or is it?• Weeki Watcee and Spongeworld—two attractions off the beaten path, an underwater mermaid theater and Spongebob’s natural cousins!• Cassadaga—the Spirits are still talking—or not as the case may be—in a ghost town (Har!) dedicated to the Spiritualism movement…• The Villages—largest retirement community anywhere gets down and boogies!• Gatorland—it’s Florida, home of the Everglades and half a million alligators and crocodiles…• Lock and Load Miami—Florida has the “Stand your ground” Law and this is the place you go to practice—even if you don’t own a gun and never want to own one!• LIV—huge nightclub everyone fights to attend and pay outrageous prices for booze…• Key West—it really says something when Key West’s “lower Duval Street makes Bourbon Street look like Sesame Street…”The laughs are throughout along with the occasional serious moments (not really!) Barry remains King!I give the book five stars!Quoth the Raven…

Best. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland (Hardcover) by Dave BarryA very humorous look at a very humorous State.I have spent a not inconsiderable amount of time in the State of Florida. And I am always bemused by the exploits of Florida Man. Dave Barry, a well noted humor columnist and book author, decides to tour this State, and give us a very fresh look around.He visits some sites that I have ben to, and some I now need to go see. In each place, he shares his story of meeting various iterations of Florida Man, and Florida Woman (oh yes, she exists too!). And there were many places where I did truly LOL! But something to note is that for all the obvious tourist trappings, and "Only In Florida" tales, you can sense that Dave really does find the good in people. So, you see, by and large, Florida is filled with some really good folks, even if the Sun has fried some of their brains.

Dave Barry needed to rant about Florida, his home for the past 30 years. Best. State. Ever. is a Florida travelogue. He visits a bunch of seedy, kitschy, tacky and otherwise uncomfortable places including a psychics town, a mermaid show, Spongeorama, Skunk Ape, Gatorland, and Key West, where all the beer is cold refreshing, without the comma.The opening salvo is worth the SJ Perelman Prize, which does not exist, but which should be created for this one essay. It is a sharp, sardonic, sarcastic, aggressive and funny 30 pages comparing Florida to other states. The exaggerations are precious, the targets fat and juicy. It has been honed to perfection, reading like a Phyllis Diller set with a laugh at precisely every 12 seconds. You feel you are being bowled over, steamrollered and battered into submission: this man is the best. He can’t possibly keep this up for the whole book. He doesn’t.All the following essays are trips he takes around the state, with his unremarkable experiences in them, and his bemused reactions to the flora and fauna. They are peppered with small, slightly unfocused black and white photos he took on the trips, (with a noted predilection for signs) and wonderful footnotes that add so much to the Dave Barry Experience (Ha! being my favorite).From Barry’s standpoint, Florida is Disneyland for Baby Boomers. From the bars to the retirement cities, it’s a treat all day every day. You can blow your savings at shooting ranges, walk around naked in Key West, have your fortune told by liars or just enjoy the giant insects, snakes and alligators lying around, waiting. The book doesn’t exactly prove Florida is the Best. State. Ever., but it’s a delightful romp with Dave Barry hosting.David Wineberg

Hilarious book. Worth to read it. The quality of the book is low so as a gift, not the best but in content, it's very funny

This is a hilarious, but accurate depiction of a great state!

Disappointing. I used to buy every Dave Barry book that came out (his column wasn't carried in my city's newspaper), and had to remember not to read them while eating or I'd be sure to choke because I was laughing so much. Had only read his novels of recent years and decided to get caught up on his essay collections. This one, I think I chuckled a few times, but that was all. Maybe he's getting tired, or turning more serious with age, or maybe I'm just not that interested in visiting his beloved state of Florida. (Sorry, Floridians, I just don't like hot weather and insects/alligators/snakes.) This rather pale imitation of his earlier works certainly didn't inspire me to plan a vacation there. Too much attempt to make the state sound nicer and safer than its reputation? The result was disappointingly flat.

I have the entire Dave Barry oeuvre. Every book continues to make me laugh with every rereading.I offer one of his books for bedtime reading when I have overnight guests.