Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway: A Vicious and Unprovoked Attack on Our Most Cherished Political Institutions FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Dave Barry is back in the ring, and he's sucker-punching American politics from the wing-tipped halls of the Beltway to the dimpled and pimpled voting booths of South Florida, and back again. Barry sets his column-writing aside to deliver what he calls "A Vicious and Unprovoked Attack on Our Most Cherished Political Institutions" in his new book, Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway.
Barry is in top form, attempting to chronicle our journey in human government throughout the ages -- including the Dark Ages ("a bad time, lasting about one thousand years, during which hardly anybody read books and there was widespread ignorance. It was a lot like now, only without TV") and the Age of Barbecue, or the 1.2 million years "during which the human race gradually developed a powerful hankering for side dishes. This in turn led to the invention of agriculture"). In his bratty, rambunctious style, Barry shares his views on everything from the Modern American Political Campaign (featuring expertly satirized commercials in the mock campaigns of Bill Humpty and Bob Dumpty), to why we should "Kick Florida, or at Least South Florida, Out of the Union" ("South Florida is one of the weirdest places in the nation, and...as long as we keep it in the nation, we are running the risk that our national political process will be infected by this weirdness"). Along the way, he also draws attention to the unseen historical significance of the giant prehistoric zucchini (a.k.a. "the hydrogen bomb of the Dark Ages"), and "rarely seen footnotes" of the U.S. Constitution, such as Article IV, Section 1, "There shall be a bunch of States," and Amendment I, "Congress shall make no law regulating the capacity of toilets."
Fans of Dave Barry's popular syndicated columns have cause to be excited about this new batch of entirely original material. Both a Barry-butchered history of Western civilization and an outsider's guide to the U.S. government, Dave Barry Hits Below the Beltway is a panoramic look at America's politics and people that makes good on its promise of being "inaccurate and poorly researched," as well as being hilarious, snide, and of course, downright silly. (Elise Vogel)
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Sensing the need for a thoughtful, balanced book to explain our deeply troubling national political process, Dave Barry has not even come close. Still, though he has covered every presidential campaign since 1984 for The Miami Herald, has run for president several times, and run for cover at the rainy inauguration of George W. Bush (the man will stop at nothing for his art), Barry has nonetheless outdone himself in this book." Here is Barry's stirring account of how the new nation was formed - and farmed. Here, also, is his answer to the need for a truly memorable new Declaration of Independence ("Whereas in the course of human events it behooves us, the people, not to ask What can our country do for us, anyway? but rather, whether we have anything to fear except fear itself"). There is, too, a revised Constitution for our times ("Section 2: The House of Representatives shall be composed of persons who own at least two dark suits and have not been indicted recently").
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Sporting red trunks, white and blue boxing gloves and an American flag towel on the cover, pugilistic Pulitzer-winner Barry (Dave Barry Turns 50, etc.) appears ready for all contenders in this satirical, hard-hitting political commentary ("Whatever the needs of the public are, the government responds to those needs by getting larger"). Beginning with a study of "Early Human Governments" when homo sapiens "were short, hairy, tree-dwelling creatures that strongly resembled Danny DeVito," the sardonic Miami Herald columnist breezes through the centuries to the U.S.'s birth and then to the present, amending the Constitution en route: "If a citizen is arrested, and that citizen hides his or her face from the news media, then as far as the Constitution is concerned, that citizen is guilty." He tours D.C. sites like the Mall, the Smithsonian (which "will pay you top dollar for your Beanie Babies, Cabbage Patch dolls, Pokemon cards, refrigerator magnets, ceramic cats") and the White House ("To take a tour, simply climb over the fence and hold very still until men come sprinting to assist you"). He aims jaundiced japery at presidential "language problems" and elections ("One of these years we're going to elect a president whose first official act will be to launch nuclear strikes against Iowa and New Hampshire"). Once again, the winner is... Dave Barry. 22 illus. and charts not seen by PW. Agent, Fox Chase Agency. (On sale Oct. 2) Forecast: Syndicated in hundreds of newspapers, Barry continues to widen his readership. A nine-city author tour will help launch this onto bestseller lists. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Barry has run amuck again, and until someone tosses a big net over him he will easily remain one of the funniest fellows writing today. This book is a true original, not a collection of columns. You can call it satire, or you can call it pure extravaganza, but it is always boisterously funny. Barry's bull's-eye spoofs keep you chuckling except when the chuckle becomes a loud guffaw. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were never meant to tickle the funny bone, but when rewritten by Barry they do just that. With his keen sense of the ridiculous he has great fun frolicking with people such as Al Gore, George W. Bush, and Pat Robertson; in places such as D.C., South Florida, and Austin; and with subjects such as the Palm Beach ballot, political campaigns, and social security. Barry even succeeds in the improbable task of writing amusing footnotes. This is Barry at his best. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/01.] A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Once again Barry meets the challenge of finding humor in United States politics, beginning with a history of how things seemed to have evolved. His perspective is different from the traditional textbook approach to government, history, and perhaps everything else. He good-naturedly pokes fun at great American documents including the Mayflower Compact and the Constitution and provides a unique view of famous events from our past, such as the Boston Tea Party, where he insists that a giant zucchini had an influence on the resultant events. He spends some time pointing out problems in the government, federal spending, and the legislative branch, but he really hits his stride once he starts retelling Florida's role in the last presidential election. For Barry's fans, this will be another book to enjoy and for those who haven't encountered him before, this is a good place to start.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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