Dave Barry's Money Secrets

December 5, 2005
After tackling such varied topics as marriage, sex, home ownership and Japan, Barry invests his jocular style in lampooning the wealth of personal finance guides out there. Mocking these books in format and tone, Barry addresses such important fiscal matters as the workings of the U.S. economy ("the U.S. workforce is engaged in the service economy, consisting of 83 million people in cubicles furtively sending and receiving personal e-mails"), how to get a job ("prove to a prospective employer that you possess the skill and knowledge necessary to string meaningless hyphenated buzzwords together into sentence fragments") and talking to your children about money ("explain to your child that if he buys lemonade from some other
kid's stand, then happens to choke on a lemon seed, then you would be in a position to sue the other kid's parents for thousands of dollars"). Barry's satire will have readers laughing at themselves and at high-profile targets like Donald Trump, Alan Greenspan and Suze Orman. Some material, particularly his insights on dealing with spouses or his ideas for innovative pet products, will be familiar to fans, but it will hardly keep them from enjoying another humorous sendup that's right on the money. B&w photos.

December 1, 2005
After mining politics and the differences between the sexes, Barry turns his sharp wit to finance and economics. If you think finance is a subject so dry that even " he" couldn't make it humorous, think again. He starts with personal finances, cautioning readers about the dangers of credit cards and how a charge of $1.50 can turn into $386.52 by the time the bill arrives. He goes on to lambaste corporate bigwigs who lose money by the millions and come up with preposterously bad ideas, such as the Pontiac Aztek (a car Barry finds hideous), or newspapers that try to appeal to young people when, as Barry points out, young people just do not read newspapers. Insurance is another pitfall, Barry warns, as most useful procedures, such as surgery, aren't covered. Barry cracks a few jokes at baby boomers' expense even as he gives boomers tips for how to cut college costs by encouraging their children to get mediocre grades so that they attend less prestigious (and therefore less expensive) schools. He is one of the funniest writers around, and his new book is hilarious.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)