Product Description

Patrick McManus believes that life's eternal truths exist solely for the purpose of being overturned and proved incorrect. In McManus's world, nothing is what it should be. All steaks should be chicken-fried, strong coffee is drunk by the light of a campfire, and fishing trips consist of men acting like boys and boys behaving like the small animals we've always assumed they were.

Into the Twilight, Endlessly Grousing is a hilarious collection from one of the greatest contemporary humorists: Dave Barry or Garrison Keillor with a twist of Mark Twain. In these adventures, McManus offers wry observations about small-town life and curmudgeonly insists on bigger and bigger fish stories.

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #199778 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-04
• Released on: 1998-11-04
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .63" h x 5.40" w x 8.20" l, .45 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Amazon.com
Outdoor Life magazine columnist Patrick McManus has been compared to Mark Twain. Into the Twilight, Endlessly Grousing demonstrates that he isn't, but McManus will suffice until the next Twain comes along. In this book, the outdoorsman extraordinaire is doing what he does best--telling fish stories, getting into scrapes with buddies, occasionally waxing philosophical, but grousing just as often. Sometimes he even ventures out of the wilderness and into mainstream humor. McManus is easily the equal of Dave Barry or any other contemporary humorist, for that matter:

When I think of all the times a Stupidity Alarm could have saved me from committing a Stupidity ... Here's one instance that comes to mind.
My children: "Daddy, please buy us a horse! Please, please, please, please!"
Me: "Well, kids, I guess a horse wouldn't be all that much trouble."
Stupidity Alarm: WHOOOOP! WHOOOOP! WHOOOOP!
The cowboy who sold me the horse said it loved children. That was true. But as I belatedly discovered, it hated adults.

He covers well-worn territory, sure. But McManus is a pro who tells stories well, so Into the Twilight, Endlessly Grousing is always diverting. And when he tells stories about his boyhood, a note of wistfulness and pathos creeps in that is definitely agreeable. This volume is a fine effort by an experienced woodsman/wordsman.

From Library Journal
In this collection of tales, McManus, one of America's most prominent humorists, frequently returns both in place (the backcountry Northwest) and time (his childhood) to some of his most fertile ground. There are echoes of Mark Twain as he tells of a boy's pursuit of the dream fish, the perils of growing a beard, and the allure of hunting the wily avid (as in, "He is an avid hunter"). Populated by characters such as Retch Sweeney and Rancid Crabtree, this is hardly New Yorker stuff, but to McManus fans the less so the better. Recommended for libraries whose patrons like their humor country fried and well done.
-?Jim G. Burns, Ottumwa P.L., Iowa
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
WARNING: If you listen while driving, this may evoke frightened stares and evasive maneuvers from other drivers alarmed by your hilarity. Pat and Eddie are reminiscent of Tom and Huck in these delightful vignettes of American boyhood. Beaver's wry tones and varying dialects bring each character to life. Musical interludes set the tone for each adventure, and some are enhanced by sound effects. B.L.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine