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You Can Get Arrested for That: 2 Guys, 25 Dumb Laws, 1 Absurd American Crime Spree
Two Englishmen on a crime spree break American laws!
Stupid, unreasonable, and long-forgotten laws—but laws just the same.
In 1787 the wise framers of the U.S. Constitution laid out the laws of the land. Since then, things have gone awry, and a few laws even the far-sighted framers couldn’t have imagined have worked their way onto the books in towns and cities across the country.
Did you know that in the United States it’s illegal to:
• Fish while wearing pajamas in Chicago, Illinois?
• Enter a theater within three hours of eating garlic in Indianapolis?
• Offer cigarettes or whiskey to zoo animals in New Jersey?
• Fall asleep in a cheese factory in South Dakota?
Englishman Rich Smith discovered these little-known laws during a great American crime spree that took him from coast to coast in search of girls to kiss (it’s illegal to kiss for longer than five minutes at a time in Kansas), oranges to peel (which the law says shouldn’t be done in hotel rooms in California), and whales to hunt (unlawful in Utah).
What inspired a perfectly law abiding, mild-mannered Englishman to come to America and take on the law? He simply wanted to know why. How did these “only in America” laws come to be, do the police know they exist, and would they care if he broke them? So with his best mate, Bateman, by his side—and at the ready should bail be required—Smith set out to break the law in the United States.
Part road trip, part chronicle of the absurdity of human behavior, part search for the ultimate in roadkill, You Can Get Arrested for That follows Smith and Bateman on their not quite Bonnie and Clyde adventure.
Stupid, unreasonable, and long-forgotten laws—but laws just the same.
In 1787 the wise framers of the U.S. Constitution laid out the laws of the land. Since then, things have gone awry, and a few laws even the far-sighted framers couldn’t have imagined have worked their way onto the books in towns and cities across the country.
Did you know that in the United States it’s illegal to:
• Fish while wearing pajamas in Chicago, Illinois?
• Enter a theater within three hours of eating garlic in Indianapolis?
• Offer cigarettes or whiskey to zoo animals in New Jersey?
• Fall asleep in a cheese factory in South Dakota?
Englishman Rich Smith discovered these little-known laws during a great American crime spree that took him from coast to coast in search of girls to kiss (it’s illegal to kiss for longer than five minutes at a time in Kansas), oranges to peel (which the law says shouldn’t be done in hotel rooms in California), and whales to hunt (unlawful in Utah).
What inspired a perfectly law abiding, mild-mannered Englishman to come to America and take on the law? He simply wanted to know why. How did these “only in America” laws come to be, do the police know they exist, and would they care if he broke them? So with his best mate, Bateman, by his side—and at the ready should bail be required—Smith set out to break the law in the United States.
Part road trip, part chronicle of the absurdity of human behavior, part search for the ultimate in roadkill, You Can Get Arrested for That follows Smith and Bateman on their not quite Bonnie and Clyde adventure.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
October 4, 2011
One afternoon I thought to myself, "I should go to the library and get a book to read." So, I drove to the library in my car. I took my kids with me, so I had to buckle them into their carseats, and get the library books we were returning and put them in the car, too, so I did that and then we headed to the library. When we got there, there were a lot of other people there, too. They were looking at books, and some were checking them out to take home. I found this book and thought it looked funny, so I decided to check it out and read it. When I got home, I started reading it. There was a long introduction about why the author decided to write this book and how he got a book deal and all that, and I thought, "Why is this in the book? Shouldn't this be in the literary equivalent of the DVD bonus features?" But it wasn't; it was right there taking up space at the beginning of the book, which I thought was kind of dumb.
Okay, for my own sanity, I'm going to stop there. If you stopped reading this review after the second sentence, you are a wiser reader than I. This book was written exactly like that, only worse(if possible) and with a lot, LOT more drinking. This book was the perfect example of a great idea gone completely to waste on a really terrible writer (This guy was apparently a journalism major, which means his instructors are either a) complete morons, b) contemplating suicide over the fact that this schmuck got a book deal and they didn't, or c) all of the above.) I was annoyed by virtually every aspect of this book, but probably my biggest pet peeve was the author's blatant disregard for the validity or background of the supposed "laws" he set out to break. Do a Google search of "dumb laws" and you're sure to get results that are outdated, misrepresented, or flat-out wrong. A book of this nature would be a great avenue to explore that, but the author refuses to do so. He takes the Internet at its word and then sets about "breaking" these supposed "laws" with all the fortitude and determination of my three-year-old "cleaning" her room. For example, he makes a single phone call to a South Dakota (or North Dakota?) cheese factory to ask permission to sleep in their factory. Told that it would be a health code violation (duh. Isn't violating SOMETHING the whole point?) he just gives up on that one entirely.
Anyway, after realizing that this book was nothing but drivel, I read the chapter on Utah for something of a modern-day de Tocqueville perspective. He whines that a Salt Lake Tribune reporter called him on the law he was going to break as not actually being a law in Utah (illegal to hunt a whale. Shocking that Utah legislators didn't feel the need to guard against that, considering that the biggest creatures in the Great Salt Lake are brine shrimp) and calls him a spoil sport. "Yeah, Legitimate Newspaper Man, you ruin all the fun of my completely unresearched and meaningless drinking binge across America! Lighten up!" Right? The nerve of some people.
If you think acupuncture is a good time, or if you found my first paragraph to be brilliant writing, I highly recommend this book.
Okay, for my own sanity, I'm going to stop there. If you stopped reading this review after the second sentence, you are a wiser reader than I. This book was written exactly like that, only worse(if possible) and with a lot, LOT more drinking. This book was the perfect example of a great idea gone completely to waste on a really terrible writer (This guy was apparently a journalism major, which means his instructors are either a) complete morons, b) contemplating suicide over the fact that this schmuck got a book deal and they didn't, or c) all of the above.) I was annoyed by virtually every aspect of this book, but probably my biggest pet peeve was the author's blatant disregard for the validity or background of the supposed "laws" he set out to break. Do a Google search of "dumb laws" and you're sure to get results that are outdated, misrepresented, or flat-out wrong. A book of this nature would be a great avenue to explore that, but the author refuses to do so. He takes the Internet at its word and then sets about "breaking" these supposed "laws" with all the fortitude and determination of my three-year-old "cleaning" her room. For example, he makes a single phone call to a South Dakota (or North Dakota?) cheese factory to ask permission to sleep in their factory. Told that it would be a health code violation (duh. Isn't violating SOMETHING the whole point?) he just gives up on that one entirely.
Anyway, after realizing that this book was nothing but drivel, I read the chapter on Utah for something of a modern-day de Tocqueville perspective. He whines that a Salt Lake Tribune reporter called him on the law he was going to break as not actually being a law in Utah (illegal to hunt a whale. Shocking that Utah legislators didn't feel the need to guard against that, considering that the biggest creatures in the Great Salt Lake are brine shrimp) and calls him a spoil sport. "Yeah, Legitimate Newspaper Man, you ruin all the fun of my completely unresearched and meaningless drinking binge across America! Lighten up!" Right? The nerve of some people.
If you think acupuncture is a good time, or if you found my first paragraph to be brilliant writing, I highly recommend this book.
December 16, 2012
Fun concept. Lousy execution. Lousier writing. A brief browse of dumblaws.com would be more edifying, and probably more entertaining.
July 11, 2008
This book is a case and point regarding the problems of selling a book idea before a word of it has been written (or before the event that is supposed to inspire the book has even happened). Rich Smith recounts in this book the process of scoring the book deal itself, and the instant interest and publicity he got for the concept, regardless of the fact that he had nothing at that point than to suggest that he go to America and break ridiculous laws. Perhaps this was to show some of the general dislike of America abroad, or the general consensus that America needs to be brought down a notch or two, which becomes apparent when many other countries relish in the absurdities of America.
But because the trip itself can probably be termed, in the truest sense of the word, "a bust," and Rich and his traveling mate spend more time trying to find ways to actually violate these laws (albeit, in often secretive and cowardly manners, with little attempt to make any public announcement of their ectivities to see if any authorities would actually stand behind their antiquated or absurd regulations) rather than spend much of any time in actual transgression, and so a lot of the book feels like a lot of padding. If this concept and execution were so sound to write a full book about, what would be the need of spending 50 pages or so of the beginning to detail how the idea came about or the book deal itself nailed?
The answer is simple: it is BECAUSE the trip itself turns out to be diappointing and with little insight that the book has to be padded with a lot of this tangential information. Rather than start the book with a concise mention of Balderdash and the book's inspiring moment, the author takes us through an elongated recounting of the final round of the game in question--in short, the book's effort feels like the work of a high school sophomore trying to make a 500 word essay fill up the required 1500 by the teacher, an effort that usually ends up with a lot of meaningless description and a lot of getting to the obvious.
Rather than just skulk about and hope someone noticed their law-breaking, the author could have served his purpose much more directly by making his actions far more public, as I had mentioned before, and see if his chosen townships or state authorities would have stood behind their statutes. Instead, the author, when actually able to find a way to break the law, does so like a member of Jackass--waiting for someone to notice. In the end, this book comes across as a similarly puerile attempt at a little attention.
But because the trip itself can probably be termed, in the truest sense of the word, "a bust," and Rich and his traveling mate spend more time trying to find ways to actually violate these laws (albeit, in often secretive and cowardly manners, with little attempt to make any public announcement of their ectivities to see if any authorities would actually stand behind their antiquated or absurd regulations) rather than spend much of any time in actual transgression, and so a lot of the book feels like a lot of padding. If this concept and execution were so sound to write a full book about, what would be the need of spending 50 pages or so of the beginning to detail how the idea came about or the book deal itself nailed?
The answer is simple: it is BECAUSE the trip itself turns out to be diappointing and with little insight that the book has to be padded with a lot of this tangential information. Rather than start the book with a concise mention of Balderdash and the book's inspiring moment, the author takes us through an elongated recounting of the final round of the game in question--in short, the book's effort feels like the work of a high school sophomore trying to make a 500 word essay fill up the required 1500 by the teacher, an effort that usually ends up with a lot of meaningless description and a lot of getting to the obvious.
Rather than just skulk about and hope someone noticed their law-breaking, the author could have served his purpose much more directly by making his actions far more public, as I had mentioned before, and see if his chosen townships or state authorities would have stood behind their statutes. Instead, the author, when actually able to find a way to break the law, does so like a member of Jackass--waiting for someone to notice. In the end, this book comes across as a similarly puerile attempt at a little attention.
April 19, 2011
At first I thought this book was going to be okay. At first the narrator's dry wit and humor reminded me of Will from the Inbetweeners. But as the book went on you could tell that the "crime spree" and the resulting book was the product of having signed the book deal before the author even stepped foot in America. The breaking point for me was the second time the narrator admitted a law he was breaking wasn't even an actual law (and I have serious doubts about most of the laws at issue in the book and that doesn't even include laws that the author decides to put his own spin on like the no-fly zone over the Capital being equated to mean you can't fly a kite in Washington D.C.). So instead of being a fun little exploration into the quirks of local laws this turns into a self-indulgent and judgmental road trip across America with the author and his friend doing stupid things for no apparent reason. And the worst part is, it's not even that well written.
November 29, 2007
I picked up this book for a light read over the Thanksgiving holiday. Yes, it was light, and even lighter on substance. Rich Smith and his friend Luke, whom he refers to as "Bateman," are two twenty-something Brits who use their dumb American lawbreaking spree across the U.S. as the premise for this book. Bateman (and I suspect Rich as well, though he's probably too embarrassed to admit it) has the personality of a badly behaved frat boy, with side trips to Hooter's and drunken blackouts prominently featured throughout. Smith's crimes are committed in mostly half-hearted ways. Instead of a quirky, humorous read, I got an annoying account of two boys behaving badly.
August 12, 2021
A potentially amazing book if only they'd actually broken some laws!! Still... Good book guys! Reading about the laws and their journey was adventure enough I suppose
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2013
After reaching the thirty-third page of this book, I realized that, despite the entertaining premise, I would not be finishing it, especially since I have any number of far more valuable books requiring attention. The prologue is promising, but the opening of the first chapter is disjointed and does not flow well into the rest of the book. The narrative is exaggerated and colloquial, and employs a sort of jocular humour that relies on references to popular culture that simply did not resonate with me; the overall tone of the book is "devil-may-care", but what is to be expected from an author who has set out to break laws for the sheer fun of it? While I enjoyed the British perspective and vocabulary, the very first law he set out to violate upon arriving in America was so vulgar and licentious as to render the book devoid of enjoyment for me. Most of the violations are amusing and harmless, along the lines of riding a bike in a swimming pool or peeling an orange in a hotel room, but there are some which are simply not appropriate for doing or reading.
The fast-paced contemporary narrative and superficial premise make the book good for a light read, but the vulgarity (and the profanity littered throughout the book, along with a number of bar scenes) negates its potential.
The fast-paced contemporary narrative and superficial premise make the book good for a light read, but the vulgarity (and the profanity littered throughout the book, along with a number of bar scenes) negates its potential.
October 21, 2009
I'm not sure I've ever read a book that inspired such a need for a red pen before. I barely remember the plot of this book because I spent so much time editing each sentence in my head as I went along. Other than the bad writing, it's also a pretty boring story. Yes, most of the laws he breaks are inane, but that doesn't mean they're interesting and inane. He does meet some American characters along the way that are either stereotypically ignorant, bigoted, or blonde. The outcome of each encounter is clearly meant to solidify the author's opinion that anyone British is better than anyone American.
Two of the best laws he broke were that it's illegal to walk across the street on your hands in Hartford, CT, and it's illegal to wear a goatee in the state of Massachusetts. There. I've spared you from having to read 237 pages of really bad writing.
Two of the best laws he broke were that it's illegal to walk across the street on your hands in Hartford, CT, and it's illegal to wear a goatee in the state of Massachusetts. There. I've spared you from having to read 237 pages of really bad writing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2013
There were a couple of moments where I laughed, a couple where I was genuinely engaged with the story.
... In a book almost 300 pages long; that's not exactly a rave review.
With a love of journalistic style, an interest in law, adventure and overseas culture (as well as a fully functioning sense of humour) I expected to enjoy this book. But it just didn't hit the mark. A sad fact as books based on stories like this, if done well, can be wonderful. A favourite example of mine is 'Around Ireland with A Fridge' by Tony Hawk - give that a go.
I think the result would be far better if the author took a 'blog style' approach to documenting the adventure. As it is, the writing and structure drown out any excitement.
A shame. I saw several similarly disappointed reviews before I made a start with the book but still maintained hopes of 1 star+. Not this time.
... In a book almost 300 pages long; that's not exactly a rave review.
With a love of journalistic style, an interest in law, adventure and overseas culture (as well as a fully functioning sense of humour) I expected to enjoy this book. But it just didn't hit the mark. A sad fact as books based on stories like this, if done well, can be wonderful. A favourite example of mine is 'Around Ireland with A Fridge' by Tony Hawk - give that a go.
I think the result would be far better if the author took a 'blog style' approach to documenting the adventure. As it is, the writing and structure drown out any excitement.
A shame. I saw several similarly disappointed reviews before I made a start with the book but still maintained hopes of 1 star+. Not this time.
May 18, 2017
The original premise is clever--choose some of the obscure, crazy, and unbelievable laws that are still on the books in the U.S. and set out to break them, such as fishing in your pajamas or playing cards with a Native American. But the author and his friend are young 20-year-old guys who spent most of their time drunk or talking about getting drunk or breaking real regular laws. They seemed proud of the fact that Bateman got a speeding ticket and laughed about the fact that he wouldn't pay it. And they stayed at the Ritz in NYC and stole towels and leather cases, and all kinds of other stuff as though it were charmingly amusing. What might have been a silly and entertaining book just turned out to be slow and kind of dumb. Very disappointing.
July 28, 2007
These guys are so funny. They find a bunch of absurd laws in several states, and then set out to go "break" them. These are the types of laws that have fallen by the wayside, that nobody pays attention to anymore but are still on the books. They indeed "break" many laws, but are a little disappointed when nobody seems to notice and don't get arrested. It was a fun read with a bit of travelogue.
June 8, 2009
The title is the best part of this book. It had so much potential, and was a real big disappointment. They didn't try too hard to actually accomplish the goal of breaking the dumb laws they listed. The laws they chose weren't the most interesting...and fact they were British guys in the US didn't lessen the reality that they didn't follow through as expected.
May 22, 2013
I enjoyed this book from start to finish, and it's one that I like to read over again. Having never been to America, it was fun to see the kind of laws they have there that are lesser known there by Americans, and it was fun to read Rich and Bateman's adventures while breaking them.
October 13, 2016
tried to read this book for over a week. stopped on pg 97. it was stupid
July 18, 2018
A really fun read. Two guys cross the US in 2005 to send up some of the ridiculous and often, archaic laws of the country. It's incredibly entertaining and very silly, but importantly highlights the absurdity of the world's most powerful nation. I have a funny feeling that some of their japes would have either been harder or more contentious in this current climate of 2018 though. This sort of mild anarchy certainly appeals to my sense of humour and would be the sort of quest that I would love to embark on for a laugh. Not with how that country is, or who it is ruled by, at the moment.
During their trip, we find the boys breaking the law by peeling oranges in a hotel room in California, whale hunting in a landlocked state, driving round a town square in Mississippi more than 100 times, fishing in two states (once in pyjamas and another with a lasso), sporting a goatee in Boston and eating watermelon in a South Carolinian cemetery. Not to mention unwittingly breaking the law by speeding more than once. Plus, there is a really sweet bit where they happen upon a small taste of their native Cornwall, in Wisconsin.
They couldn't break one of the most unbelievable laws though. Oral sex in San Francisco, quite possibly one of the most liberal cities in the world. Odd.
The only downfall for this book is the lack of picture documentation of their adventures and rule breaks, something that they reference to all the way through the book. Otherwise, it's really good and you will probably enjoy it immensely.
During their trip, we find the boys breaking the law by peeling oranges in a hotel room in California, whale hunting in a landlocked state, driving round a town square in Mississippi more than 100 times, fishing in two states (once in pyjamas and another with a lasso), sporting a goatee in Boston and eating watermelon in a South Carolinian cemetery. Not to mention unwittingly breaking the law by speeding more than once. Plus, there is a really sweet bit where they happen upon a small taste of their native Cornwall, in Wisconsin.
They couldn't break one of the most unbelievable laws though. Oral sex in San Francisco, quite possibly one of the most liberal cities in the world. Odd.
The only downfall for this book is the lack of picture documentation of their adventures and rule breaks, something that they reference to all the way through the book. Otherwise, it's really good and you will probably enjoy it immensely.
June 26, 2018
This book is just a frat boy deciding to do something pretty stupid and then not even doing it very much. The stories he chooses to tell are random - he tells the story of the entire last round in a game of Balderdash, decides to go to a White Sox game, doesn't, decides to go to another game later and never mentions it again, tricks his friend into thinking he's emailing a beautiful girl with no payoff greater than "lol got you" - just in general makes weird narrative choices.
His attempted digs at America are so mind-numbingly banal they're neither funny nor offensive. Zingers include: baseball is just rounders, Americans drive on the wrong side of the road with stupid automatic transmissions, and the Gateway Arch is just an arch.
Ouch.
Here's one for Rich, in the style of his writing: Rich, your book, is so boring, I only finished it, because it was so short. You made, no effort, to give it any point. And, it, wasn't funny enough, for me to, not care.
I may have slightly exaggerated his number of commas per word but not by much.
His attempted digs at America are so mind-numbingly banal they're neither funny nor offensive. Zingers include: baseball is just rounders, Americans drive on the wrong side of the road with stupid automatic transmissions, and the Gateway Arch is just an arch.
Ouch.
Here's one for Rich, in the style of his writing: Rich, your book, is so boring, I only finished it, because it was so short. You made, no effort, to give it any point. And, it, wasn't funny enough, for me to, not care.
I may have slightly exaggerated his number of commas per word but not by much.
July 15, 2018
I honestly expected more from this book. It was a fun idea, but turned out to be 2 guys who spent the majority of their vacation across America drunk and having sex with as many girls as they could. More time talking about ridiculous laws in America would have been appreciated. We don't care about how many girls he was with. Oh well. I'm off to research ridiculous laws in America.
February 10, 2023
One man spends over 200 pages whining about how lame he found his 2005, largely unplanned visit to America. The only thing saving this review from being a single star is his genuinely glowing and actually fairly accurate review of the capital of my home state.
June 5, 2019
The author is less funny than he thinks, but it's a quick read and there are fun bits, so why not.
September 17, 2021
I enjoyed it but there wasn't enough criminality for a caper, nor was there enough geography for a travelogue. Mainly I wondered how they afforded the whole thing.
March 5, 2021
Heavy on the British humour and American vacation travelogue; light on crime and actual arrests.
February 11, 2020
This is not the worst book I have ever read. It is, however, the worst book I will ever admit to reading. The premise of the book seemed like it would be an enjoyable read, but it was horrible. All of it was bad. They show a tremendous amount of disdain for the people they met on their travels, and it was this tone of the book that made me hate these two morons more and more as the book wore on.
March 18, 2014
I picked this up for inclusion in an upcoming book giveaway but thought it looked like a quick and entertaining read. It was. I always enjoy seeing stuff on dumb laws, so I found it interesting that someone would come to the US from the UK specifically to break a bunch of dumb laws. He made a valiant effort, although it is a good thing he only had to *hunt for* whales in Utah -- since he chose the Jordanelle Reservoir, which is a man-made lake to do it in, his chances of actually finding one were slimmer than ever. I enjoyed some of the people he met along the way and was amused at the successes and failures and how boring both could be. I was continually reminded how young he was, though, by the fact that he seemed to be constantly drunk. But I guess he needed something to keep him going on his weird quest.
The book reminded me a little bit of one of Tony Hawkes's books (mostly Round Ireland with a Fridge), but not quite as funny. I did enjoy getting to see some parts of the country I am familiar with through foreign eyes, though, and still cannot believe he spent 4 whole days in Tooele but considered Saltair to be the place to do his site-seeing in Salt Lake.
The book reminded me a little bit of one of Tony Hawkes's books (mostly Round Ireland with a Fridge), but not quite as funny. I did enjoy getting to see some parts of the country I am familiar with through foreign eyes, though, and still cannot believe he spent 4 whole days in Tooele but considered Saltair to be the place to do his site-seeing in Salt Lake.
August 6, 2016
Maybe the tagline should have been 2 Guys, 25 Dumb Laws, 1 awful book.
The premise of the book is great, look up all those crazy state ordinances like "It's illegal to tie a giraffe to a light pole" in Minnesota or "It's illegal to have oral sex in South Carolina" and then willfuly break them. Unfortunately this book only had the good premise and lacked in good writing and good follow through.
The author does no research on the origins of theses laws, only manages to break 18 of the absurd laws and wastes the reader's time explaining his attempts and failures at breaking others; it's illegal to sleep in a cheese factory in Wisconsin and no cheese factory will let him in, it's illegal for two men to carry a bathtub across the village green in Longmeadow, Massachusetts but they couldn't fit the bathtub from the hardware store in their car, so he gives up.
Man if only I had given up as quickly on this book or better yet bothered to read the first page while standing in Powell's trying to figuire out what book to buy for the airplane.
The premise of the book is great, look up all those crazy state ordinances like "It's illegal to tie a giraffe to a light pole" in Minnesota or "It's illegal to have oral sex in South Carolina" and then willfuly break them. Unfortunately this book only had the good premise and lacked in good writing and good follow through.
The author does no research on the origins of theses laws, only manages to break 18 of the absurd laws and wastes the reader's time explaining his attempts and failures at breaking others; it's illegal to sleep in a cheese factory in Wisconsin and no cheese factory will let him in, it's illegal for two men to carry a bathtub across the village green in Longmeadow, Massachusetts but they couldn't fit the bathtub from the hardware store in their car, so he gives up.
Man if only I had given up as quickly on this book or better yet bothered to read the first page while standing in Powell's trying to figuire out what book to buy for the airplane.
January 11, 2008
This Book is about two guys that find out dumb laws of different countries, including the U.S. In the book that main character is bored one day and somehow finds the dumb laws on line. Soon after that he goes to his friend and asks if he would like to go on a trip to the U.S and break the laws across the country (they live in London, by the way). After a little talk his friend decides to go. His buddy and him fly to America and go on a roadtrip to break the dumb, un-heard of laws of the U.S.
This book is cool and somewhat, I might read it again in the future but.......i'm not promising anything. This book makes me want to go on a road trip myself with some friends and break some funny laws too........or not. These two English guys had a good idea and even though they broke some laws they didn't get in much trouble.
This book is cool and somewhat, I might read it again in the future but.......i'm not promising anything. This book makes me want to go on a road trip myself with some friends and break some funny laws too........or not. These two English guys had a good idea and even though they broke some laws they didn't get in much trouble.
December 12, 2008
This was hilarious! There are so many ridiculous laws out there and 2 Englishmen, Rich and Batemen set out to break a few. Their account of taking on the law had me laughing out loud and telling my family about their adventures! I actually borrowed the book from the library around 9 am and then returned it around 6 o'clock. I couldn't put it down! I was also excited to see they made a stop at my hometown, but their visit here was short. They did, however, break the law they set out to break! I even had to check out the website that he visited before he planned his crime spree and found out even more ridiculous laws he didn't even mention! I'm sure this book will inspire copy cats, if it already hasn't! Definitely worth a read if you're interested in stupid and random facts! Pick it up!
August 1, 2011
I enjoyed it though I rarely laughed out loud. I am familiar with many of the cities mentioned in the book, even the smaller ones. I've actually been out to little tiny Globe, Arizona as it isn't far from where I lived in Mesa. Luke and Rich seems like guys I'd enjoy hanging out and having a few drinks with -- hopefully without breaking any laws! I was a little surprised at the small number of laws they attempted to break. I'm sure there are a great many more they could have along their travels, especially considering some of the ones they tried weren't that easy.
All in all, a fun book full of innocent mischief.
All in all, a fun book full of innocent mischief.
December 1, 2007
I had high hopes for this book... what a FANTASTIC premise - two guys roaming around America breaking the long-forgotten ubsurd laws of yesteryear! HUZZAH! But sadly, the author and the co-pilot Bateman have very little personality and Rich lacks the verve necessary for excellent storytelling.
I think my favority thing about this book was finding out what the crazy laws were that are out there to be broken!
...sidenote: I only put this under adventuresabroad because THEY were on an adventure abroad. I somehow felt it was imparitive that I explain that. I really do NOT know why.
I think my favority thing about this book was finding out what the crazy laws were that are out there to be broken!
...sidenote: I only put this under adventuresabroad because THEY were on an adventure abroad. I somehow felt it was imparitive that I explain that. I really do NOT know why.
October 8, 2013
Not a bad book. Fluffy. If Dent, Arthur Dent, had a chance to visit America without the benefit of cool Ford Prefect or his towel. Good for reading in airports or on the beach. Two and a half stars.
This book would have been greatly enhanced by the inclusion of some of the history behind the laws or interesting information about the cities they visited. As it is, Rich Smith writes mostly about rental cars and Hooters uniforms. There's only so much you can say about that. Even he doesn't sound especially interested.
This book would have been greatly enhanced by the inclusion of some of the history behind the laws or interesting information about the cities they visited. As it is, Rich Smith writes mostly about rental cars and Hooters uniforms. There's only so much you can say about that. Even he doesn't sound especially interested.
December 11, 2009
Despite the title, this book (or at least the first few chapters I was able to get through) is really about the author's bar stories (i.e. the see-how-cool-I-am-by-not-really-caring-how-cool-I-am stories). Case in point: He details how, on his 21st birthday, he went into a San Francisco club on Goth night. So?
Maybe you should experience this book in that spirit: with a drink in one hand, a snack in the other, and a couple of other people around to chime in with their own BS.
Maybe you should experience this book in that spirit: with a drink in one hand, a snack in the other, and a couple of other people around to chime in with their own BS.
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