New York Times Bestseller

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You need never have held a rifle, worn a backpack, or even thought about putting a worm on a hook to appreciate these hilarious tales of a sportsman's life in the Great, and often not-so-Great, Outdoors. Continuing in the same tongue-in-cheek vein that made his first two books such popular entertainment, McManus offers more cracker-barrel wisdom and zany insights into the agonies and ecstasies of hunting, fishing, and camping.

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You will learn about the dread disease, "two-man-tent fever" (one of the symptoms of which is that the sound of dandruff falling on a sleeping bag is perceived as a deafening roar); what the art of pipe smoking has to do with fishing expertise; what really goes on in the backseats of outdoorsmen's cars; why you should never ask a sportsman how he got his scar; which items not to steal from your hunting buddy's lunch; the definition of "granny knot" ("what you feel like after spending a night sleeping with your spouse and three children in a pup tent"); and much more.

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Every bit as clever and engagingly self-depreciating as his earlier books, Never Sniff a Gift Fish will be embraced by McManus lovers and welcomed by the uninitiated as a rare and unexpected delight. The man who has been favorably compared to Benchley, Buchwald, and Bombeck — as well as S.J. Perelman and Mark Twain — is back with the best collection yet, deftly puncturing the myths of masculine mystique, gently exposing the imperfections of man and beast, but always celebrating life in the natural world with his inimitable brand of wit and humor.