Customer Reviews

Dave Barry's Guide to Life (Contains: "Dave Barry's Guide to Marriage and/or Sex" / "Babies and Other Hazards of Sex" / "Stay Fit and Healthy Until You're Dead" / "Claw Your Way to the Top")

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Much of this was written back before Dave Barry was a name brand humorist. I can remember buying copies of the babies book years ago to give to all of my pregnant friends. This is typical Barry-- pointed, free-wheeling, funny and immediately recognizable as pieces of truth that most people are too polite to mention. Written as books, these are often more sustained than the column collections, and written Back In The Day, they don't have to live up to any rep or expectation. These books are part of what MADE Dave Barry's national following.

This book was full of the typical hilarity found in Dave Barry's writing. The "Babies" portion had me rolling on the floor. As a mother of two young children, I was able to find humor in the most mundane of baby/toddler activities. The section on putting your baby to bed rang true and was best illistrated by the lulaby line "stay asleep until at least 6:30 am." The rest of the book followed the same kind of humor and is a definite read for anyone who wants a good laugh out of life

This is an omnibus edition containing four semi-related examples of Dave Barry's early, fairly short works: Dave Barry's Guide To Marriage and/or Sex, Babies and Other Hazards of Sex, Stay Fit and Healthy Until You're Dead, and Claw Your Way To The Top.

The humor is mostly some of Dave's better stuff, although I thought that the first two sections were funnier than the last two; still, even those are well worth reading. Overall, about on a par with "Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need".

This thick book is product of an unholy mating of these four older Dave Barry books:
- Dave Barry's Guide to Marriage and/or Sex
- Babies and Other Hazards of Sex
- Stay Fit and Healthy Until You're Dead
- Claw Your Way to the Top

I had read the first two before, and this revisit was as good as expected. The other two, on health and employment, were less interesting but not unpleasant, like mixing steamed mushrooms and Brussels sprouts.

Here's what I wish I remembered from the first time I read these books. Do NOT read while you are eating. An uncontrollable spasm of laughter WILL result in ejecta being deposited onto the pages and beyond.

Be warned.

Always very funny - put together in a book which is the type which you can open on any page and read an article for a giggle. As he says - it would be great to leave in the lavatory to read at your leisure!

Fantastic collection of Dave Barry books. "Claw Your Way to the Top" was my favorite bit. Love the subtitle: "How to become the head of a major corporation in roughly a week."

I was first blown away by Dave Barry's Greatest Hits, a selection from his often hilarious (occasionally in a surreal way) column. This follow-up purchase was my cheapskate way of getting four books in one omnibus (and hardcover no less) edition: at amazon someone sold the book for something like a cent and all I paid was standard postage.

Well, next time I'll be a bit less frugal and fork out for another collection of his columns. The `Guide to Life' books were still amusing, occasionally laugh out loud, but not quite at the same standard. I think the short column format suits Barry better than sticking to one theme for an entire book. He earns his money, but at times it seems to require more effort to squeeze out all the pages; whereas at his best his columns feel like he's just joyously ranting on a theme he doesn't have to sustain for any length of time before being distracted by something else.

It's a bit of a time piece too - although for anyone who lived through the 80s that can be an enjoyable feature. That being said, it's interesting how many things still ring true, even raves about computers with a fraction the RAM but disturbingly similar frustrations.

I bought this as a gift for a friend, who just happens to be an expectant mother. She was showered with "how to" books on raising babies, so I thought I would give her one more -- the Dave Barry guide. I started reading it, and ended up chuckling more often than not. A recommended read to someone who wants a laugh, and enjoys Dave Barry's outrageous writing style.

I have read (and loved) almost all of Dave Barry's books but this one was a disappointment. I didn't even finish it. Maybe the subjects (babies, marriage...) just didn't grab me but I would recommend many of his later books over this one.