Dave Barry was born in Armonk, New York in 1947, and has been steadily growing older ever since without ever actually reaching maturity. He attended public schools, where he distinguished himself by not getting in nearly as much trouble as he would have if the authorities had been aware of everything. He is proud to have been elected "Class Clown" by the 1965 Pleasantville High School Class.

Dave Barry went to Haverford College, where he was an English major and wrote lengthy scholarly papers filled with sentences that even he did not understand. He graduated in 1969 and eventually got a job with a newspaper named--this is a real name--The Daily Local News, in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he covered a series of incredibly dull municipal meetings, some of which are still going on.

In 1975, Dave Barry joined Burger Associates, a consulting firm that teaches effective writing to business people. He spent nearly eight years trying to get his students to stop writing things like "Enclosed please find the enclosed enclosures," but he eventually realized that it was hopeless. So in 1983, he took a job at the Miami Herald, and he has been there ever since, although he never answers the phone.

In 1988, Dave Barry won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, pending a recount. His column appears in several hundred newspapers, yet another indication of the worsening drug crisis.

In 1996, Dave Barry married Michelle Kaufman, a sportswriter for the Miami Herald. He has a son, Robert, who recently got his driver's license, which should make everybody nervous.

Dave Barry has written a number of short but harmful books including, Babies and Other Hazards of Sex; and Dave Barry Slept Here: A Short of History of the United States. His most recent books include Dave Barry Is NOT Making This Up; Dave Barry's Gift Guide to End All Gift Guides; Dave Barry Does Japan; Dave Barry Turns 40; Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need; and Dave Barry Talks Back. They have been hailed by the critics as "containing a tremendous amount of whitespace." The CBS television series Dave's World is based on two of Barry's books. Also, he owns a guitar that was once played by Bruce Springsteen.

Speech Topics

Babies and Other Hazards of Sex

Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States

Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys