Stephen Fry in America: Fifty States and the Man Who Set Out to See Them All

The UK’s favorite funnyman offers a hilarious and insightful grand tour of these fifty states in Stephen Fry in America. In this full-color companion volume to his miniseries on public television, Fry lovingly delves into each region and subculture with the spirit of an anthropologist and the wit of a master satirist. The Emmy Award-winning (for his special The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive) comedian whom the Guardian (London) dubbed “a treasure of the British Empire,” Fry joins the ranks of other humorists who have previously provided uniquely British takes on contemporary American life—including Michael Palin and Eric Idle of Monty Python—not to mention New York Times bestselling expatriate Bill Bryson. Warmhearted, eye-opening, and very, very funny Stephen Fry in America is a journey that is not to be missed.

Britain's best-loved comic genius, Stephen Fry, turns his celebrated wit and insight to unearthing the real America as he travels across the continent in his chariot of Englishness, a black London cab.

Stephen Fry has always loved America. In fact, he came very close to being born here. His fascination for the country and its people sees him embarking on an epic journey across America, visiting each of its fifty states to discover how such a huge diversity of people, cultures, languages, and beliefs creates such a remarkable nation. Stephen starts his journey on the East Coast and zigzags across America, stopping in every state from Maine to Hawaii, talking to each state's hospitable citizens, listening to music, visiting landmarks, viewing small-town life and America's breathtaking landscapes, following wherever his curiosity leads him.

En route he discovers the South Side of Chicago with blues legend Buddy Guy, catches up with Morgan Freeman in Mississippi, strides around with Ted Turner on his Montana ranch, marches with Zulus in Mardi Gras in New Orleans, drums with the Sioux Nation in South Dakota, joins a Georgia family for Thanksgiving, "picks" with bluegrass hillbillies, and finds himself in a Tennessee garden full of dead bodies.

Whether in a club for failed gangsters in Brooklyn, New York (yes, those are real bullet holes), or celebrating Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts (is there anywhere better?), Stephen is welcomed by the people of America—mayors, sheriffs, newspaper editors, park rangers, teachers, and hoboes, bringing to life the oddities and splendors of each locale. A celebration of the magnificent and the eccentric, the beautiful and the strange, Stephen Fry in America is the author's homage to this extraordinary country.

“Most entertaining. His writing style proves to be as pleasurable as his presenting.” - The Independent (UK)

“An insightful and fascinating look into what makes this country of contradictions tick. ” - Herald Sun (Australia)

“Informative, charming and witty. A delight from Maine to Hawaii.” - Sunday Tribune (South Africa)

“Fry is a writer, and an acclaimed one at that, and he won’t let his followers down with this book. It’s pithy and amusing.” - Courier Mail (Australia)

“Covering 50 states in eight months in a black London cab, Fry offers up a delectable slice-of-life of America.” - Financial Mail (South Africa)

“Offers an outsider’s refreshing perspective on the vastness and variety of America. Delightfully funny and informative.” - Library Journal