I Fish Therefore I Am: And Other Observations

by Patrick F. McManus

Three bestsellers in one delightful volume--at an unbeatable price! With his own particular brand of wry tongue-in-cheek humor, Patrick F. McManus spins riotously amusing slice-of-life stories of men, women, and their adventures in the great outdoors. The laughter will start right at the clever A Fine and Pleasant Misery , Never Sniff a Gift Fish , and T hey Shoot Canoes, Don't They? Full of enjoyable exposÉs such as "All You Ever Wanted to Know About Live Bait but Were Afraid to Ask," "Psychic Powers of Outdoorsmen," and "The Night Grandma Shot Shorty," they'll give readers hours of pleasure. McManus takes the wildly unpredictable aspects of outdoorsmanship and reveals, with humor and wit, the pitfalls and triumphs of man (and woman) versus nature.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, Essays

672 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1995

About the author

Patrick F. McManus is an American outdoor humor writer. A humor columnist for Outdoor Life and other magazines, his columns have been collected in several books.

Reviews

[Billy Jack]

Unfortunately I do not think that this collection was meant to be read cover to cover at speed. If you do you will notice similar writing patterns, punchlines, setups etc that will ultimately take away from the book. The first third of the book is very enjoyable, especially as someone who didn't read the author previously. I can say I knew and know people who act and speak just like this author does and the people he talks about are recognizable, however that does not belay the fact that there are only so many times misdirection can work on someone. I recommend reading the individual books collected here, preferably with a large gap between them.

The humor is not incredibly clever most of the time, adequately descriptive and did make me laugh more than once but that is not a very high bar for 600+ pages of humor. If I were to hear each story from my grandfather, 1 or 2 every weekend as I grew up as a kid I think that I would consider my grandfather a fantastic storyteller. If he sat me down for approximately 12 hrs and told them all to me I'd run into the same problem. It isn't especially crude, it isn't especially violent or risque. The most 'shocking' things in the book might get an eye-brow raise on Hee-Haw back in the day but compared to modern comedy it is a specific person who could sit and enjoy every single story in this book as much as the author probably did.

By all means read it, it isn't particularly difficult and you feel like you accomplished something but I think the few I remember will hold me over to not clamor for more.

[Jammies]

This omnibus is three collections of Mr. McManus's stories in one volume. A longtime writer for Field and Stream, Mr. McManus writes some of the funniest stories about outdoor life that I've ever come across. Today was a horrible day, and as I was mooching around the house in a funk, it occurred to me to haul this one off the shelf and elevate my mood.

The very first time I read the piece "A Fine and Pleasant Misery," I made the mistake of doing so in the bathtub, and I laughed so hard I almost drowned. Tonight, the same essay and others made me laugh when I desperately needed to do so.

Thanks, Pat.

[Sonyetta]

Patrick McManus is hands down one of the best- if not THE best- humor writers out there. I might understand his humor even better, coming from a backwoods place like Montana, but I can't imagine anyone not getting a laugh out of his writing. This book, a collection of stories from three seperate volumes, is my "waiting book." If I have to wait anywhere- airport, doctor's office, mechanic- I take this with me and pick stories at random. The only down-side is trying to hide your laughter from other people in the waiting room. It can be a struggle at times!

[Karolinde (Kari)]

This is a collection of his first three, and I think his best, books. The stories are hysterical, not great for SSR because you can't not laugh out loud. You don't have to have camped or fished to enjoy his story telling style, strange sense of humor, or just plain strangeness.

[Katy]

I was first clued to the humor of McManus by Quartho 's raptures regarding this author. I found the book on the bargain table at Barnes and Noble and have found my investment well returned.

[Jennifer]

I thought I liked Patrick McManus, but three books in one were a bit overwhelming! I didn't read the whole thing but will go back to it...