Customer Reviews

Dave Barry in Cyberspace

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let me start by saying that I love Dave Barry's work -- I've been reading everything he's written since the early-'80's, always with great anticipation. With that said, I regret to report that this book is merely OKAY. Of course it was funny (how could Dave Barry not be?!), but I only found maybe two or three rolling-on-the-ground-laughing parts. So, if you're a fan of his, or if you have an interest in computers, you should definitely read it. Just don't expect as much side-splitting as other reviewers have claimed. For laugh-out-loud-til-you-wet-yourself Dave Barry humor, I recommend any collection of his weekly columns, and also *Dave Barry Slept Here*.

What other author could sum up Jerry Pournelle in one sentence, make jokes about the Radio Shack TRS-80, tell an enticing tale about a cyber romance, and still manage to work the word "booger" in at least once per chapter? Updike couldn't do it. Mailer certainly couldn't do it. Only Dave Barry can do it.

This book is rip-roaring, side-splitting, and downright howlarious! Oh my god. I read it cover to cover as though I were taking the bar exam except that every other minute I was literally rolling on the carpet howling as though someone was performing the "Tunisian Tickle Torture" on me. And I'm not even exaggerating.

The first few chapters are incredibly funny, and as you get accustomed to his kind of humor you start to want more and more of it and you eventually start laughing in preparation for his jokes!

Coming to the actual content of this book - it is an extremely comically cynical look at computers and how they affect everyone everyday. The guffaws begin with his description of evidence of computer usage in the stone ages, continue through to his tips on selecting a computer to buy, persist with his description of software and its purpose and culminate with a tongue-in-cheek description of the "information superhighway", internet and chat rooms. My personal favorite is his definition of "electricity" - it should appear in all physics text books.

Somewhere towards the end, there is also a somewhat touching story about a couple that meet in a chat room. I wonder if it landed up in this book as a mistaken cut-and-paste operation. Nice to read all the same.

All in all, if you are ever bored, forget TV and everything else - pick up this book and do yourself a favor. You never thought you could laugh so much.

This is not one of Dave Barry's better books. It has the usual pages and paragraphs that send you into hysterics, but the world of technology laughed at in the book is so antiquated that many of the jokes feel old. Pair that with his unsuccessful attempt to make the same jokes funny throughout the book (which he accomplishes in some others), and you have a lesser Barry book. Give one of his other's a shot.

The humour of Dave Barry shows us why we hate those contraptions we call computers, and does it in a very funny way. The book's a bit outdated,though: it doesn'talk of one of the most frequented web pages, namely "404 page not found", and of the mysterious nemesis of programs "the program X has effectuated an unvalid operation and will be terminated". Inexorable.Well,you can't really blame old Barry for not mentioning snags that showed after 1996. I loved his book,and expecially his collection of weird sites (now,I fear,gone to "404",but replaced by equally weird sites).

Dave Barry is definately one of the funniest writers of all time, and he continues to shine in this book. Every single page is loaded with intelligent humor, so much so, that you will need a box of tissues. The book, written like a computer manual, is very easy to read and flows quite nicely. His ride through the information superhighway is pure genius and non-stop hilarious laughter. This book is a must read for any computer-user, or for anyone who enjoys playing with his joystick. Do not "Abort, Retry, or Fail" in picking up this book.

Any situation he comes across, Dave Barry can make it funny. And its all true. I think the funniest bits are about the Windows operation system version 1.0 (C:), and the question and answer bit about the internet. I dont know how you do it, Dave, but dont stop! Any true Dave Barry fan, get this book or I'll kill this dog! PS His best book, which I would give 6 stars if possible, is "Dave Barry Slept Here", the history book.

This book is easily the funniest piece of literature ever written. Everything he says is true and we've all had many of the same observations as he writes about, but nobody could make it as funny as Dave Barry did in this book. On a couple occasions, I almost got heartburn and suffocated from laughing so hard. This is a must-read for every literate person in the digitalized world. Five stars was not nearly enough!

Dave Barry has, yet again, made somthing that is usually a serious matter funny. From a detailed look on how he doesn't know exactly what makes a computer work (and then you send your child back for the premium dipping sauce.....) to emoticons that you will never in a million years know how to make (unless of course, you have an italic animal section on your keyboard) Dave Barry makes you wish you had the knowledge to use the Internet (but the book is also for people under the age where you can only remember when technolegy was limited to the color telivison) all in all, a great book.

I bought this book to share with may parents who are just beginning to enjoy sailing through cyberspace. I was constantly <LOL> and embarrassed when someone walked into my room and wondered what was wrong. I particularly related to Dave's frequent instructions: "Ask a 14 year to do it," as our 14 year old is our own Cyberspace techie. My only objection (and the reason for not giving this to my parents) is the semi-hard core sexual references in the book. Hysterical, but not for MOM and DAD from ME... One questions: Are those addresses real? I'd try them out, but I have loaned the book to a coworker and can't get it back!