They Shoot Canoes Dont They? – 1982 publication.

With tongue pressed firmly in cheek and a gentle but penetrating eye for human foibles, McManus celebrates the hidden pleasures, unappreciated lore, and opportunities for disaster to be found in the recreations of camping, hunting, and fishing. Gathered here for the reader’s edification are such treasures as the true but little known sotyr of the discovery of the efficacy of live bait by Genghis Khan’s chef, an examination of the precarious and perhaps fantatical expertise required for ice fishing, and a consideration of the circumstances that can cause a deer to ride a bicyle. Among additional topics explored are The Crouch Hop and Ohter 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 int he morning) and BAFF MAST PIME IG BEAD FEAS MID MIFF PIFE (That’s the last time I try to eat peas int he dark with my hunting knife. The author’s appreication 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-remember sidekick, Retch Sweenyey, 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.