Bernie Cook

America According to Me Bernie Cook

Bernie Cook's book is set to become one of the funniest travel books of the year. His personal observation of The American Way from the perspective of a New Zealander traveling the back roads across the country by RV, details some odd and sometimes hilarious exchanges with the locals. Described in his satirical and sometimes self-deprecating style, they provide a great belly laugh and an insight to the local culture. From sun-drenched Florida through the Blue Ridge mountains to the great Cities of the east, endless plains of the north and west and everything in between, Bernie narrates his experiences and observations made through "slightly mad eyes" as he call them, in a way that is both humorous and informative. For American readers it's a chance to see themselves from the perspective of a sympathetic foreigner. For non-Americans it's a great way to get a glimpse of the real American rather than the stereotype portrayed by an often unsympathetic media. Describing himself as an "amateur anthropologist" he delves into the everyday lives of ordinary Americans from homeless drug addicts to academics - which in some circumstances are one and the same - mixing with them at weddings, social occasions and business meetings. Here he has struck a rich vein of priceless experiences that while being unique to him are recognizable by anyone as very human stories.