With tongue pressed firmly in cheek and a gentle but penetrating eye for human foibles, Patrick F. McManus celebrates the hidden pleasures, unappreciated lore, and opportunities for disaster to be found in the recreations of camping, hunting, and fishing in his hilarious collection They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They? Gathered here for the reader’s edification are such treasures as the true but little known story of the discovery of the efficacy of live bait by Genghis Khan’s chef, an examination of the precarious and perhaps fanatical expertise required for ice fishing, and a consideration of the circumstances that can cause a deer to ride a bicycle. Among additional topics explored are The Crouch Hop and Other Useful Outdoor Steps, The Sensuous Angler, and Psychic Powers for Outdoorsmen. Included, too, is The Hunter’s Dictionary, an invaluable lexicon that helps the novice sportsman understand such arcane terminology as “Ooooooeee-ah-ah-ah! (If there’s one thing I hate, it’s putting on cold, wet pants in the morning)” and “Baff mast pime ig bead feas mid miff pife! (That’s the last time I try to eat peas in the dark with my hunting knife!)” The author’s appreciation of outdoor life began in his early boyhood, when he absorbed a wealth of improbable information imparted by the old woodsman Rancid Crabtree, “who bathed only on leap years.” Young McManus also enjoyed special adventures with his ill-remembered sidekick, Retch Sweeney, and another boon companion of days gone by, the loquacious family dog, Strange, whose exploits as a hunter were limited to assaulting stray chickens and on one memorable occasion a skunk. “McManus here follows up A Fine and Pleasant Misery with a collection of sketches that launches him into the front ranks of outdoor humorists.”—Library Journal

More humorous observations and insights into the agonies and ecstacies of hunting, fishing, and camping by the author of They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?and other celebrations of life in the wild.

Humorous tales and discourses on a sportsman's life.

Witty cautionary tales of outdoor life.

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

“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

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.