Dave Barry is proud to have been elected Class Clown by the Pleasantville High School class of 1965. From 1983 to 2004, he wrote a weekly humor column for the Miami Herald, which in 1988 won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. He is the author of some thirty books, including his bestselling Peter Pan prequels, written with Ridley Pearson; his Christmas story The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog; Class Clown; Dave Barry’s History of the Millennium (So Far); and I’ll Mature When I’m Dead. Barry lives in Coral Gables, Florida, with his family and a domestic staff of forty-seven.

Praise for Best. State. Ever."A side-splitting read. With a guffaw on every page, a wealth of detail and a cocktail of irreverence, you might call Barry’s look at Florida a tour de farce. But you’d be wrong. “Best. State. Ever.” represents a loving and ribald look at a weird and wonderful place." — Richmond Times-Dispatch“Whether it’s the invsive wildlife or the annual snowbird migration, plenty of folks have disparaged Florida over the years. But leave it to Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist and longtime resident Dave Barry to pen a proper ode.” — Garden and GunPraise for Dave Barry“Genuine genius . . . American silliness has long had a champion in Dave Barry. . . . [He] remains, and there is no other word for it, hilarious.” —The New York Times Book Review  “Dave Barry’s latest book of essays is worth every penny when it comes to humor and insight. It’s wonderful to see that he hasn’t stopped writing about our foibles and his somewhat unique perspective on what makes us tick. And he’s able to do it while invoking out-loud laughter.” —Associated Press  “These latest essays will cause outright, prolonged laughter.” —Kirkus Reviews  “Despite years of medication, Dave Barry is still the funniest damn writer in the whole country. Let’s hope he never grows up.” —Carl Hiaasen  “Dave Barry is truly the funniest man living in the three-mile ‘safe’ zone off the shores of America.” —Steve Martin