Gullible's Travels: The Adventures of a Bad Taste Tourist

by Cash Peters

Book Overview

A collection of affectionately witty accounts of some of Cash Peter's more ridiculous journeys as he makes his way, road weary and on a shoestring budget, across the United States in search of places... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0762727144
• ISBN13: 9780762727148
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Globe Pequot Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Constantly, consistently hilarious

I had never heard of Cash Peters before having read a rave review of "Gullible's Travels: The Adventures of a Bad Taste Tourist," but after having bought it, read it, read funny bits aloud to anyone nearby who would listen, and having read it yet a second time, I now count myself among his most ardent fans. Peters' book is all about his last fling as a "bad taste tourist" being paid (not enough, he assures us) to visit tourist oddities all over the world. Among these are the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast; museums devoted variously to dirt, barbed wire, and feet; a hotel which makes a tremendous show of its resident ducks getting into and out of water; a tour of Parisian sewers; a funeral home miniature golf course; and, of course, Graceland. Peters is unfailingly sarcastic, which makes for terrific reading since his hosts are generally unfailingly sincere and enthusiastic about their chosen oddity. One of the chapters is entitled "The Old Woman with an Armchair Glued to Her Ass." The subtitles on this chapter alone include: "Mr. Moussef asks for a fork - Joseph, Mary, and the teddy-bear Jesus - a touch of unpleasantness in a Boston library - a sticky breakfast confrontation." So you can imagine what the rest of the text is like . . . well, heck, here are just a very few highlights: "In 1773, the British Parliament passed a wicked piece of legislation called The Tea Act, imposing a tax on all tea imported into the Colonies. The locals were in an uproar. 'Ye infernal bounders! Forsooth, 'tis intolerable what ye do'; or however they spoke back then." "Boston Common is the oldest park in America. In fact, I think it may even date as far back as Historical Times." "Nobody in Salem [Massachusetts] is able to mention the witch trials, not even in passing, without also telling you the date of them--1692. It's fun to begin with, and then you wish they'd stop." On slogans for cities: "Salem's is 'The Bewitching Seaport,' which isn't bad. There's also Minneapolis: 'The Coolest Place on Earth' (though, having been there, I realize that this is more of a stern warning than a slogan); Albuquerque: 'It's a Trip!' and of course Boston's slogan: 'How DARE you Come Here!' " A sample conversation with a drama student dressed in historically accurate clothes: ME: Excuse me, which way to the bathroom? STUDENT: Insolent coxswain! Begone, knave, lest I begroddle thy swank with my jerkin. The footnotes alone are a scream, so you can imagine what the actual text is like. HIGHLY recommended for anyone who loves to travel and enjoys a good (read: bad) travel story.

Absolutely delightful!

This book is a gem. Think Dave Barry and Bill Bryson and you will just have started on the delights and laughs in this book. If you love to travel, even better!! This book was laugh-out-loud funny and I live in the same state with the Barbed Wire Museum. Cash finds a way to have fun with the sights he sees, yet is mostly self-deprecating, so he isn't making fun of the people he meets - there isn't anything cruel about his humor. I can recommend this without hesitation to travel buffs and those looking for a great laugh alike.

"A real hoot!" as my midwest friends would say...

...but since I'm from New York, I can't say that.I will say that I laughed so hard and so often that my overweight dog got off the bed and left the room. I telephoned a friend in Worcester, MASS and read a small passage about the Museum of Sanitary Plumbing. Her response was the same as the next line in the book. When I read the address from the next line in the book, her response was again, verbatim from the book, including exclamation points. (This will make sense AFTER you read the story.)Buy this book, but do NOT have food or beverage in your mouth while reading: you have been warned!

A great travelling companion

Before I read this book I had no desire to visit the world's largest ball of twine or the Museum of Dirt. I still don't but I am glad that Cash Peters did. This guy is hilarious. This is much more than a travel book, it's a rather touching voyage of discovery in the company of a very entertaining writer. Cash Peters is a witty and cynical commentator who can turn a great one liner, but he's also insightful and rather lovable. He just can't bring himself to hate the wacko places he visits. Listening in to his bemused musings on the importance of Bad Art I found myself convinced that if I had to visit the Precious Moments Theme Park, this is the man I would want to be with. A very, very funny and engaging book. Highly recommended.

Gullible's Travels

Well-written, erudite travel books, especially with outrageous humor, are almost impossible to find. This one is a doozie! Living in the hinterlands, I've never heard Mr. Peters on the radio, so I can only hope that this book is just the first of many more to come. I'm a great fan of Bill Bryson, and I'm happy to report that Cash Peters is every bit as good and in some respects better. Mr. Peters may be gullible, but his insights are rapier sharp. This is a book to confirm your sanity in a world that often seems dreadfully askew. Great writer, great book. More please.