Driving is a serious topic, which makes
it the perfect subject for a book like this. It really does
help to laugh at something that too often only raises your
blood pressure or makes you use language you don't like to
admit you know. In this hilarious parody of a how-to manual,
Zack and Larry Arnstein cover every driving situation that
has ever caused damage or even just annoyance. From driver's
ed to car alarms and tailgating to drunk driving, it's all
here, every kind of bad driving situation and opportunity
for making things worse that you can think of and, impossible
as it may seem, even more.
The chapter on visiting the DMV takes
readers on a page-turning detour that does a remarkably accurate
-- but fortunately much funnier -- job of simulating what
it's like to get sent from window to window on a quest to
transfer car ownership. Other sections include take-offs on
multiple choice driving tests that capture their frustrating
trickiness and annoying ambiguities perfectly. Chapters with
intriguing names like "Intimidating Pedestrians"
cover topics as diverse as taxi drivers, bumper stickers,
back seat driving, car maintenance, and "Teaching Your
Teen to Drive." A chapter on sex includes a great list
of questions men and women can use to find out whether a potential
partner will be compatible. For women, "Will he ask directions?"
For men, "Is she willing to have sex with you?"
In addition to the text, line drawings
cover such topics as terrifying left turns, scenes from the
history of bad driving (all the way back to ancient Egypt!)
and "The Bad Driver's Pyramid," a take-off on the
FDA's old "food pyramid." "Recommended daily
allowances" include sparing use of property damage but
quite a generous number of incidents of "intersection
blocking, double parking, and reckless lane-changing."
At last, guidelines that real people can actually follow!
While The Bad Driver's Handbook
makes a perfect anonymous gift for someone whose driving terrifies
you, make sure you read the book before passing it on. Most
of us spend a major part of our lives dealing with traffic,
cars, and driving, but we don't spend nearly enough time laughing
about them.
Megan
Edwards
10/23/05
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