Hilarious and heartwarming stories of outdoor mishaps and misadventures from The New York Times five-time bestselling, beloved humorist, Patrick F. McManus, "a writer who makes people laugh out loud, hard." (The New York Times)

McManus's first story collection, gathering twenty-seven witty, cautionary tales about camping, fishing, backpackers, and bears, with an introduction by Jack Samson, long-time editor-in-chief of Field & Stream.

In A Fine and Pleasant Misery, McManus reminisces about the adolescent thrill and terror of "backyard safaris" and pedaling his "two-wheeled ATV"; he ventures down harrowing rapids and through the almost equally harrowing parking lot of a national park during the busy season; and he shares teachings from his wilderness mentor, Rancid Crabtree. The great outdoors have never been rendered as hysterically as in these tales—true and exaggerated.

Including such classic stories as "A Fine and Pleasant Misery" and "Shooting the Chick-a-nout Narrows."

“A hilarious compilation” —The Los Angeles Times