Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up

In Class Clown, Dave Barry recounts his life story with the humor that defined his career. The son of a Presbyterian minister, Barry won a Pulitzer Prize for writing a widely-read newspaper column despite its inaccuracies. Barry's journey began in childhood, spent throwing rocks and preparing for nuclear war under classroom desks. After being elected class clown in high school, he attended college as an English major, playing in a rock band during the sixties. His journalism career started at a small-town Pennsylvania newspaper, where he learned crucial lessons about local reporting. He later worked as a writing consultant in the business world before becoming a humor columnist for The Miami Herald. At the Herald, Barry's columns developed a devoted readership while alienating Neil Diamond fans and the state of Indiana. His readers alerted him to unusual hazards like exploding toilets and fire risks from strawberry pop-tarts and Rollerblade Barbie, which he demonstrated on the David Letterman show. He led a campaign against telemarketers that prompted their national association to stop answering phones due to unwanted calls. Barry also became a book author, joined a literary rock band that performed with Bruce Springsteen, and ran for president multiple times. Barry credits his Midwestern parents with teaching him never to take anything too seriously—a lesson evident throughout this memoir celebrating humor, absurdity, joy, and sadness.