The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw

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.

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