[applause] a number of you know me from previous years. Its hi pleasure to be here to welcome its my pleasure to be here to welcome you and on behalf of Miamidade College, the college that really puts forth maximum effort in terms of solen b tiers volunteers from all its constituents, students, faculty and staff to make this book fair happen as it does every single year. And for the past 30 years. Id like to thank our sponsors, there are many of them, but in particular o. H. Aryan know and American Airlines for their sport. Id also like to thank our friends, many of whom are seated right here in front. Thank you so much for all of your support this year and for the past years that this fair has been made possible in part because of your generosity. The end of the session, as you know, the authors will be signing their books. Theyll be autographing on this floor on the other side of the elevator so you can proceed to that end, and you will also have an opportunity to ask questions after
Tell me when youre ready to go in. I just want to get them all in here. Let me sign the ones that are [inaudible] i want them to buy books and come here. Hello, tucker. We had a funning isment. Lets do it fun segment. Lets do it again this weekend. Ive got parents weekend. Oh, ill do it. No, i mean fox and friends. Thats what i mean. Ill do it from l. A. For you guys. I actually like l. A. Can you do it the first weekend in november . Skip this weekend but the next one . I actually like getting up at four a. M. Because you get there and back, i never knew how close the l. A. Fox studio was until i did fox friends on the weekend. Its ten minutes. Usually its an hour during the day. Ten minutes there, ten minutes back, its still dark in l. A. , so i go right back to bed. Its a weird name. [inaudible] do you live . Its towards santa monica from west hollywood. Oh, it is. Whats its a funny name. I cant believe im blanking, but ive gotten no sleep for the last few weeks pause theyre brutal.
Thank you so much for all of your support this year and for the past years that this fair has been made possible in part because of your generosity. The end of the session, as you know, the authors will be signing their books. Theyll be autographing on this floor on the other side of the elevator so you can proceed to that end, and you will also have an opportunity to ask questions after the authors have completed their presentations. So wed like to keep this fair be going for 30 more years, dont we . [applause] so lets do it together, and instead of asking you to turn off your cell phones, what id like you to do if you have not already done so this weekend is to take out your cell phones and text mbfi to donate to Miami Book Fair international if youre so inclined. Doe that it to 41444. Thank you donate to 41444. Thank you so much. Please consider donating 30 in support of the 30 years the book fair has been in existence making culture happen here in our community. Its now my pleasure
Today we know that these three writers are gifts to the english language. This morning, the first author that i will be introducing nonother than dave barry. Lets give him a round of applause before he comes out. [applause] we all know that you cannot do justice to his talents and there he is. [applause] you just cant do justice by reading has lengthy biography or saying that his new work, insane city, his first adult novel in more than a decade. He is an individual for over 25 years have appeared in 25 newspapers, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and its pretty cool. Like every other kid in the 305, i grew up relishing reading him and today we are hearing from a hometown favorite in dave barry. In our next author is roy blount. Come on out and lets give him a round of applause. [applause] a master of language and the humorist to boot. He has authored 22 books in a wide range from robert ely to the Pittsburgh Steelers if you are an npr nerd, and you may also know him as a regular panelist
There he found an exclusive campus he. It he resented it as an undergraduate and came to resent it as a professor there. He then became president of the college. And it was at this time he decided now i have the ability to change what this college is. Wilsons predecessor in the presidency of princeton was a man who used to brag he ran the finest country club in america. [laughter] he did. There was no question about it. It was an enclave for the sons of the very, very rich. Wilson tried to tear that down. It was in doing that, he began writing about what he was doing and speaking about what he was doing. This is how the most immediate oric rise in American History occurred. People began to look at wilson, who used the princeton campus as a great metaphor for america. He believed Higher Education should be the great catapult for people. Anybody from any class in a country that has no classes but in such a country, anybody who is educate and works hard should be able to leapfrog. It shou