How I Got This Way
- Book Review,
by Patrick F. McManus
From Publishers Weekly
There's a smile or guffaw to be had on almost every page of McManus's ( The Good Samaritan Strikes Again ) collection of essays, some of which are original, others reprinted from Outdoor Life . Dealing primarily with growing up in rural Idaho, the pieces introduce boyhood friends such as Eddie Muldoon, with whom McManus dug a pit to catch wild animals that unfortunately caught Eddie's father and a skunk--simultaneously; the priest with a fear of birds who came to dinner before the McManuses had moved their spring crop of chicks to the henhouse; and Rancid Crabtree, who demolished a 400-pound pumpkin at the county fair with the author's monster-sized slingshot. Stories abound about hunting, fishing and arduous treks, including a piece about hiking with George Bush during the 1992 presidential campaign. There's entertainment aplenty here that even indoorsy folk should enjoy. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
YA?The cover of this short-story collection features a face-front headshot of the author cheek to cheek with a large ape. 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. Teachers looking for one-to-two-minute fillers or examples of humorous essays may want to join their students in dipping into this delightful time warp.?Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VACopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
More humor from the author of The Good Samaritan Strikes Again.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gentle, ironic, self-deprecatory wit from the popular western humorist (The Good Samaritan Strikes Again, 1992). There's some of Bill Nye here and more still of Mark Twain, as in McManus' account of his worthless dog, Strange, who evaded every responsibility and was mean, besides. McManus likens Strange to a man who, everyone agrees, is shiftless, dishonest, and abusive. Upon his death, however, people manage to remember something good about the man, so that eventually even his victims were concluding that he hadn't been such a bad sort after all, merely misunderstood. McManus avoids big, political targets, instead rambling on about subjects close to home, such as a kingfisher who regards the bridge McManus crosses daily as his home, and McManus as a trespasser; how hunters and fishermen lie about their exploits; and his own clumsiness and predilection for disaster in the wilderness of eastern Idaho. In his two-part How I Got This Way, he tells of his chaotic rural upbringing and the meaningful relationships he formed with chickens and, also, how he became a humor writer rather than a literary type concentrating on the Three D's of Death, Despair, and Delusion. How I Got This Way is upbeat and pleasant, a good choice for a quiet, bluesy weekend. John Mort
From Kirkus Reviews
Bucolic essayist McManus (The Good Samaritan Strikes Again, 1992, etc.) pops out of the tall timber to present his ninth gathering of lies and giggles from field and stream. The usual crew of supporting characters--Retch Sweeney, Rancid Crabtree and wife Bun, as well as a phalanx of Sasquatches-- provides backup while McManus sings his old sweet song of silliness. He's still got it, if you want it--and you probably do if you ever dreamed of attending an elk hunters' banquet, smelled a hen house, or been bitten by a bug. The author has met all sorts, from George Bush to a kingfisher who left him a farewell note. Indeed, not since Professor Robert Benchley went beak to beak with a pigeon has a writer had such a meaningful relationship with a bird. Between wistful autobiographical reports, our mountain Montaigne fires off a few worthy aphorisms in his debriefings from the field. ``The older something is,'' he muses, ``the more it is valued, people being the only exception.'' Another piece of philosophy (written about a dog, not an erstwhile president): ``Nothing improves character so much as death.'' The thrust of the author's body of work, of course, is spectacular lack of accomplishment in any fresh air activity, and the present collection continues the pattern. This is McManus as his cadre of fans knows him, and perhaps it's too much to ask the nostalgic woodsman to beat a path to new territory. Regular readers will be pleased to meet the hapless Clown of the Wild Frontier once again. Trepid, vincible, domitable, and predictable as the seasons, Pat McManus is still the funniest guy in a flannel shirt. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
"Patrick McManus is a treasure."--The Atlantic
"Everybody should read Patrick McManus."--The New York Times Book Review
"There's a smile or a guffaw to be had on almost every page."--Publishers Weekly
Review
"Patrick McManus is a treasure."--The Atlantic
"Everybody should read Patrick McManus."--The New York Times Book Review
"There's a smile or a guffaw to be had on almost every page."--Publishers Weekly
Review
"Patrick McManus is a treasure."--The Atlantic "Everybody should read Patrick McManus."--The New York Times Book Review "There's a smile or a guffaw to be had on almost every page."--Publishers Weekly
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