The Grasshopper Trap

Patrick F. McManus

Oct 2009 · Recorded Books · Narrated by Norman Dietz

About this audiobook

Patrick F. McManus, the “funniest guy in the Outdoor Life and Field & Stream gang ... offers another bag of whimsy in the Great Outdoors”* with The Grasshopper Trap.

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.

“It’s enough to tickle the most rabid member of the National Rifle Association.”—*Kirkus Reviews

Ratings and reviews

I loved reading his collections years ago, and found that many of the narrators do a very good job. ALWAYS take "his" view with a grain of salt, like with Mark Twain. When I go back to them every few years, I'm am still very entertained, and still laugh so much I get tears!

About the author

Patrick Francis McManus was born in Sandpoint, Idaho on August 25, 1933. He received a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1956 and a master's degree in journalism in 1959 from Washington State College, Pullman. He taught English, creative writing, and journalism at Eastern Washington State College from 1960 until he retirement in 1983. He was a magazine writer. From 1977 to 1982, he was a columnist and associate editor for Field and Stream magazine. From 1982 to 2009, he wrote a monthly humor column called the Last Laugh for Outdoor Life magazine and served as the publication's editor-at-large. His work has also appeared in Reader's Digest, Sports Illustrated, and the New York Times. He published 14 collections of his columns including A Fine and Pleasant Misery and The Horse in My Garage and Other Stories. His other books include Real Ponies Don't Go Oink!, The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw, The Deer on a Bicycle: Excursions into the Writing of Humor, and Whatchagot Stew written with Patricia McManus Gass. He also wrote the Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery series. He died on April 11, 2018 at the age of 84.