“Funniest guy in the Outdoor Life and Field and Stream gang, McManus here offers another bag of whimsey in the Great Outdoors” —Kirkus Reviews In this collection of thirty zany stories, spoofing camping, fishing, and other outdoor recreational activities, McManus shares his hilarious wilderness misadventures. From facing an angry bear with an unloaded gun and the folly of running a boat while it’s still on the trailer to not questioning the ingredients found in camp cookout cuisine and the best methods of catching grasshoppers, no one knows how to express Mother Nature’s sense of humor like Patrick F. McManus. Praise for Patrick F. McManus “Patrick McManus is a treasure.” —The Atlantic “Everybody should read Patrick McManus.” —The New York Times Book Review “A style that brings to mind Mark Twain, Art Buchwald, and Garrison Keillor.” —People “Describing Patrick F. McManus as an outdoor humorist is like saying Mark Twain wrote books about small boys . . . the funniest writer around today—indoors or outdoors.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tales of rural Idaho by the New York Times–bestselling author: “There’s a smile or guffaw to be had on almost every page . . . entertainment aplenty.” —Publishers Weekly From fibbing fishermen to wilderness misadventures to eulogies for a mean dog, this is a charming collection of comic essays and tall tales from the Field & Stream and Outdoor Life writer and “funniest guy in a flannel shirt” (Kirkus Reviews). Among the many selections is the two-part title essay, in which Patrick McManus delves into the chaotic country boyhood that shaped him into one of the best-loved and bestselling authors of our age. “Gentle, ironic, self-deprecatory wit from the popular western humorist. There’s some of Bill Nye here and more still of Mark Twain.” —Booklist “The brief selections are of the type one might hear from a droll uncle/grandfather prefaced by the phrase, ‘When I was a boy.’ They are mainly outdoor adventures, some of which masquerade as hunting trips, and celebrate life. All are laugh-out-loud funny.” —School Library Journal “Patrick McManus is a treasure.” —The Atlantic

Presents a collection of curmudgeonly tales on Pacific Northwest country living as enjoyed by both outdoorsmen and armchair enthusiasts, in a volume that explores the lighter side of such topics as gun safes, fly tying, and bird dog flatulence.

A collection of humorous tales about hunting, fishing and camping.

America's best-selling outdoor humorist for adults has a secret following: middle-grade and young-adult readers. Never Cry "Arp!" is a lively collection of twelve stories about young Pat's misadventures in the Great American Wilderness. All the McManus regulars are here: Crazy Eddie Muldoon, the best friend everybody wishes they had (and everybody's mother wishes they didn't); Rancid Crabtree, the good-hearted, if gamey, woodsman; Pat's skunk dog, Strange, who lives up to his name; and Pat's pal, Retch Sweeney, who does, too. This is a book for kids who love to start fishing at 4am (at least they say they do) or for those who prefer to experience the mighty outdoors in the safety of their homes. "Everybody should read Patrick McManus," said the New York Times. Now, everybody can.

Witty cautionary tales of outdoor life.

America’s “most gifted outdoor humorist” (Detroit Free Press) regales readers with this collection of gut-busting, man vs. nature tales originally published in such magazines as Field & Stream and Outdoor Living. Patrick F. McManus’s hilarious and comic stories of camping and other nature-oriented activities reach ridiculous proportions in The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw. From teaching his stepfather the methods of madness behind farm work through his best friend’s grandmother’s fear of bears, McManus reveals that human behavior is even wilder than the wilderness.