Laugh out loud funny! My wife was giving me the side-eye, wondering if I had finally lost the rest of my marbles, because I was snorting and guffawing throughout the reading of this book. As an added bonus, I learned a lot from it. I cannot wait for his next book! ( )

Kind of in the vein of Pat McManus, but not quite as ridiculous or as funny, but still enjoyable. Tougias buys a cabin in the woods (I think it was late '70s early '80s) and with mountain man dreams, he falls into a bunch of misadventures with the wildlife, elements and locals. It's a quick read and fun enough, if not a little sad to run across another book where the experiences you're reading about are much harder to personally experience as the years go buy and the nature that was there isn't necessarily there anymore. ( )

This book really did surprise me. I expected to find it interesting since I am a New Englander myself and more than a little familiar with the area he's talking about, and perhaps a little funny in parts, but I never really expected to enjoy it as thoroughly as I did. I'm not an outdoorsy type, not fond of fishing at all and don't really get the "conquering mountain man" mindset some men seem prone to. However, with our author and guide being a bit of a wilderness marshmallow himself to start, I was able to identify much more than I thought I would.

This story is about how an insurance adjuster from Massachusetts buys a cabin in Northern Vermont as a getaway from the grind of living in suburbia, a kind of "fish out of water" tale. As we start out we travel with Toug (the author's nickname) from his initial purchase and discovery of the porcupines, through the meeting of hillbilly neighbors, mating bulls, walk-on-water spiders and farting waitresses. Toug also shares with us his own changing views on "owning" land which over the years grew to a feeling stewardship instead. I giggled over Toug's recollections of his adventures with his friends (flying canoes anyone?) and their fears of Toug possibly becoming "woods queer" from so much isolated outdoor time. An example of his changing attitude is from fishing to compete with his friends to simply taking a fishing rod up and down the river for the sake of enjoying the area.

Another part of the book I appreciated are the references Toug makes to the books he himself enjoyed reading throughout the story often making references to outdoorsmen/authors such as John Colter, Euell Gibbon and Thoreau. This would be great for anyone looking for further books on mountaineering adventures of, perhaps, the more manly-man type should you be so inclined.

At the end I had to feel an admiration for the erstwhile Toug, for finding his place in the world and his dedication to enjoying it in an age where so much pressure is put on production and making money instead of caring for oneself and the world around us. This is a darling memoir about the misadventures of a mountain man wannabe that I would highly recommend. ( )