http://iandbooks.wordpress.com/This is one of the craziest books I have ever read. Dave Barry is an American author and satirist. His humor and satire is really over the top. If he gets after somebody then God help that person or country. I have read some of his books earlier but “Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of The United States” is really unbelievable. In this book the author has written about his own take on the history of United States and made it so crazy that you end up laughing all the time. At the same time, the irony of many things is very clear.First thing he did in the book is throw away all the dates of history. All the events in this history book happen on 8th October. He has some very specific things to say on the names of various American Presidents and he can really make them funny. Even though the book is in chronological order and traces back the history of formation of United States and you can relate to various events that have happened in the past few hundred years but the accuracy with the history ends there. Each event has some irony associated with it.As an example, when he writes about historic treaty between Reagan and Gorbachev about reduction of nuclear weapons and bringing an end to cold war, he says that Reagan signed the historic agreement with Gorbachev “that enormously enhanced the prospects of world peace by prohibiting the either side from ever publicly noticing the huge mark on Mr. Gorbachev’s head”. This is Dave Barry style where two completely unrelated things are written about.This book is to be read for its craziness and complete nonsense. This is a unique way to create interest about history.
I admit to sleeping through most of my history classes in high school. I admit to not knowing as much about my country’s history as my Vietnamese friend that just took her citizenship test. Helping her study was a huge eye opener to the fact that I am a numbskull about American history. So, in order to rectify that I thought I would do a bit of research, pick up a book here and there that would brighten my brain and increase my knowledge on American History. This was the wrong book to pick up. Hilarious though it may be it is not factually accurate. That being said I haven’t laughed this hard about history ever. My dad used to have a whole shelf full of Dave Barry books and now I see why. I snort laughed on nearly every page and finished the book within two days while reading it on the side of a fiction book. It’s funny, it’s short, it’s hardly educational but it’s something every good (or bad) American should read.Pros: HilariousCons: Not factually accurateTriggers: NoneRating: 4/5This and other reviews can be found on my blog, Becki's Bookself
Leslie Nielsen needs to still be alive to read this book into audio format.This book is funny, but here's the thing. You know how the Airplane! movies are hilarious? As are the Naked Gun and Hot Shots films? Have you ever tried to sit down and watch all of them straight through? It's the equivalent of snorting powdered glass while staring into the sun with a pair of binoculars. This book is the same way. Read 2-3 pages (or, rarely, even a full chapter) at a time, it's darned hilarious. But, if, just for example, you're stuck on the metro for an hour with nothing but this book and the screaming kid next to you, it can be a bit grueling.
—Coyle
Dave Barry says in this book that it is intended as an alternative to "the boring method," i.e. the system used to teach history in schools today. He accomplishes this by only covering the interesting (and often fictional) parts of history, skipping over the long, boring facts that fill most history textbooks. His dates are all simplified to October 8 for easy memorization, in order to "not waste brain cells on trivial details such as when events actually occurred." This edition of the book was published in 1997, so it does not contain what would no doubt be a colorful commentary on recent events, but it more than makes up for it in the chapters it does contain.This book is hilarious! I am a fan of Dave Barry's, and this book is one of his best works. It is obviously not a serious book, and, ironically, it requires a basic understanding of American history in order for the reader to get many of the jokes. And the jokes are quite funny; many of them had me laughing out loud.I would recommend this book because it is humorous and entertaining, and will provide a few hours' worth of enjoyment.
—Robert
Laugh out loud funny! This book was given to me when my stiff history major boyfriend was in the hospital for a while. I would read this to him, he'd fall asleep, and I'd continue reading it for myself. I wish history in school was this easy to remember! All events occurred on October 8th. Each major event in US history is broken down into sections, like, "Deflowering a Virgin Continent", "The Civil War: The Nation Pokes Itself in the Eye", and "Groping Toward Empire". And each section has review questions, like, "How come, if the country is called 'Holland', the people are called 'Dutch'?" and, "Did any of your ancestors come over on the Mayflower? So what?" Just plain 'ol silly!
—Philitsa
