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Round Ireland with a Fridge | 
 enlarge | Author: Tony Hawks
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $1.98
You Save: $11.97 (86%)
New (29) Used (41) from $1.98
Rating:  73 reviews
Sales Rank: 25350
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 264
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 0312274920
Dewey Decimal Number: 914.1504824
EAN: 9780312274924
ASIN: 0312274920
Publication Date: March 7, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Some wear on book from reading, we guarantee all purchases and ship all items via USPS mail.
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Amazon.com Review
On his only prior visit to Ireland, English songwriter-comic Tony Hawks had seen a man hitchhiking with a refrigerator. For years, he was wont to tell the tale during late-night drinking matches, and after one particularly heavy-duty night of partying, he awoke to find a bet scrawled pillowside: a friend wagered 100 pounds that Hawks wouldn't travel Ireland for a month with a refrigerator at his side. Out of this stupid premise, a ridiculously amusing book was born. Quickly discovered by the Irish media, the thumbing Englishman finds that he and his box fridge are elevated to celebrity status, and there's no dearth of rides, places to stay, or goofy people to meet, from kings to spoons players to locals who take his fridge surfing. As insightful about the strange inner workings of Hawk's mind as it is about charming peculiarities of Irishmen--it's doubtful that Hawks would have been similarly embraced by Germans, Italians, or the French--Round Ireland with a Fridge is an entirely silly, heartwarming tale told in a rollicking funny and refreshing style. --Melissa Rossi
Product Description
Have you ever made a drunken ben? Worse, still, have you eveer tried to win one? In attempting to hitchhike round Ireland wich a fridge, Tony Hawks did both, and his foolhardiness led him to one of the best experiences of his life. Joined by his trusty traveling companion-cum-domestic appliance, he made his way from Dublin to Donegal, from Sligo through Mayo, Galway, Clare, Kerry, Cork, Wexford, Wicklow--and back again to Dublin. In their month of madness, Tony and his fridge met a real prince, a bogus king, and the fridge got christened. They surfed together, entered a bachelor festival, and one of them had sex without the other knowing. And unexpectedly, the fridge itself became a momentary focus for the people of Ireland.
An international bestseller, Round Ireland with a Fridge is a classic travel adventure in the tradition of Bill Bryson with a dash of Dave Barry.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 68 more reviews...
 All in good fun December 1, 2008
What a bet Tony Hawks made... to carry a refrigerator around Ireland for the measly sum of 100 pounds, but in his written adventure the reader will laugh and laugh. And I am sure this is the basic purpose of the book being written by a stand-up comic. Sure it has a note of travelogue to it, but not in the vein of travelogue such as Bill Bryson.
Hawks portrays the Irish people as helpful and up for a chat, and from my experience in Ireland this is very true. The aid he gets from all sorts of people to include the Gerry Ryan radio show was absolutely astounding. They basically mobilized to help this hitchhiker carrying a fridge around their country. Awesome!
My favorite part is when he meets the King of Tory Island (probably one of few Kings in the world who lives in what we would call modest means). It took a devil of a time trying to get to the this island for Hawkes, but when he does he gets the pleasure of meeting the King, Patsy Dan and finds the unmarried daughter is not around dashing Hawk's hopes of being a prince. LOL. So he just hands Patsy Dan the flowers meant for his daughter. LOL.
Definitely read this book for more funny moments like this, and also for better descriptions than mine. The characters he meets really make the book.
I had two books going while reading this, and I grab for this book every time because it made me laugh.
Recommended for those seeking humour while reading a travelogue.
 A funny quick read November 30, 2008
I picked this book up while seaching for travel guides on Ireland. I couldn't put it down and laughed out loud enough times that my teenage stepson read it immediately after I was finished with the same laugh out loud reactions. The premise is crazy, the result is a riot, and it was a great read from beginning to end.
Round Ireland w/ a Fridge October 15, 2008
Well written book, fun and enjoyable. I got this book just before I went to Ireland. The book is much better then Ireland.
Nothing deep, but fun May 16, 2008
I enjoyed this book about Tony's adventures in Ireland. Like the cover says--he made a drunken bet no one expected him to keep, kept it anyway, and ended up with this adventure.
I, and several others in my bookclub, have no desire to see the stand up comedian in person. He didn't really come off as a funny guy in the book, particularly because he bombed both times he had a chance to show his stuff, but the book is delightful because it is peopled with quirky unforgettable characters and there's a wry humor in the writing.
SPOILER:
Tony's success in getting around Ireland with the fridge was definitely due to the call-in radio show that followed him from the beginning. He hardly struggled to hitch. Or find a place to sleep. Or eat. But that never diminished my desire to continue reading. It actually made me want to read more--to see how popular the guy could get. The adventure was fun to follow to the end, which was the funniest part of the book with its wonderfully anticlimactic kitchen appliance parade. I think the Irish people redeemed themselves there.
Don't read this book to discover Ireland--it's not a travel story of that sort. You do get some nice imagery/descriptions, but not enough to make it a standout feature of the book. You get more about the people than the land.
One neg is that I really don't feel like I know Tony Hawks much by the end of the book. You know more about some of the Irish characters than you know about him. Very little background info/motivation for actions, etc. is offered, and I wonder why. A little bit (not a ton) of that would have improved the story for me. Another neg is that the book made it seem as if all of Ireland is drunk all the time. It might be because Tony hung out mainly in bars, but it seemed like an unfair implication (then again, I am very unfamiliar with Ireland and Irish people).
In the end, this is a fun read about a crazy adventure in Ireland.
Why you ask? Well why not? May 2, 2008
This is a laugh-out-loud funny book. After reading it, I wanted to visit Ireland. Sure, the premise of the book is a bit ridiculous. Traveling around Ireland with fridge to win a bet. However, the author consistently points this out himself. The people he meets are interesting, and his take on them (and the adventure as a whole) is well written and worth reading. As a bonus for those who can't read, there are many pictures in the middle of the book.
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