Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside

by Nick Offerman

A humorous and rousing tour of America's nature spots as well as a mission statement about loving, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, inspired by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times bestselling author Nick Offerman

Nick Offerman has always felt a kinship to the Land of the Free--not just to the people and their purported ideals but to the actual land itself. The bedrock, the topsoil, and everything in between that generates the health of your local watershed. In his new book, Nick takes a humorous, inspiring, and elucidating trip to America's trails, farms, and frontier to celebrate the people, landscape, and stories, both historical and fresh, that have made it great.

The seeds of this book were planted in 2019, when Nick took two memorable journeys with friends--a hiking trip to Glacier National Park with his friends Jeff Tweedy and George Saunders, as well as an extended visit to his friend James Rebanks, the author of A Shepherd's Life and English Pastoral. He followed that up with an excursion that could only have come about in 2020--Nick and his wife, Megan Mullally, bought an Airstream trailer to drive across the US in late 2020. All three journeys inspired some "deep-ish thinking from Nick, about the history and philosophy of our relationship with nature in our national parks, in our farming, and in our wildlife; what we mean when we talk about conservation; the importance of outdoor recreation; and the healthy building of both local and national communities across party lines, all subjects very close to Nick's heart.

With witty, heartwarming stories, and a keen insight into the problems we all confront, this is both a ramble through and celebration of the land we all love.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Humor, Memoir, Nature, Travel, Biography

348 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 12, 2021

About the author

Nick Offerman is an American actor, writer, and carpenter who is best known for his breakout role as Ron Swanson in the acclaimed NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. For his work on Parks and Recreation, he received the Television Critics Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Offerman shares my fondness for the great outdoors, particularly "pristine wilderness in close proximity to relatively comfy hotel beds," this rambling collection of essays really didn't hit the mark for me.

Having just finished a wonderful book about nature by Amish farmer, David Kline, Offerman's offering just didn't measure up. Nick saw a lot of beautiful vistas on his hikes, but his writing is just not descriptive enough for the reader to share the view. The essays also turn out to be more like lectures, not only on the wonders of nature, but also on the evils that MAGA-hat wearers hold dear - Trump, guns, and staying unvaccinated. (Brett Kavanaugh is mightily reamed, as well he should be!) I agree politically with Offerman, so I enjoyed the swipes, however, I see the easily triggered snowflakes are already making with the one-star reviews.

Based entirely on the book's merits, and NOT on Offerman's political views, I'd say this one rates a C+. It's mostly fun, but loaded with name-dropping (We get it, dude. You pal around with a lot of celebrities.), and lacking a lot of substance. On the whole, I enjoyed hanging out with the man, though the experience did not contribute greatly to my quality of life.

And, Brett Kavanaugh totally blows!!!

[Ian Hrabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm feeling obligated to give this one 5 stars to counter all the hE's ToO PoLiTiCaL reviews who can't handle the fact that Offerman speaks his mind about the America's villains (particularly Brett Kavanaugh, man he hates that guy) and addresses the fact that the white man has done some heinous stuff at every turn in American history. Offerman will always tell you which specific tribes were screwed over in the foundation of each national park. Maybe they're just pissed because he takes the wind out of their obsession with "liberal tears."

That said, I enjoyed the hell out of this book. It's a loving tribute to agrarianism and the benefits of getting out in the natural world, and there's a long segment involving Offerman, author George Saunders (one of my favorite writers), and Jeff Tweedy (one of my favorite songwriters) gallivanting a bout Glacier National Park. I can't think of something more perfectly tailored to my interests.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. Comedy is tough to write, and it is even harder when you are being pretentious the whole time.

This is Offerman’s ode to agrarianism and liberal progressive ideology. My personal leanings are in that direction. But the author spends so much of the book glorifying ways of life only possible for the rich elite that it really turns me off. Nick is not wrong in what he says but he says it as someone totally out of touch with what actual people are able to do on a working persons salary. I would love to buy local, organic food straight from a farmer, but that gets really expensive. I would love to move to a farm in England and raise sheep, but again totally unrealistic for anyone without a couple million dollars laying around. To be fair he does admit this throughout the book but it doesn’t stop him from shaming everyone who can’t take months off of work to travel the country during a pandemic .

I was disappointed with his conclusions at times even though I agree with most of his premises. In the end this was nothing more than a shame fest for people who can’t afford to live like nick or who think differently than he does, which is a shame when the author cries for nuance throughout the whole book. It comes off as elitist to say the least.

[Katey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I love Nick Offerman and I love the one other book I read by him and his wife, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.
More than half of this book was talking about his opinions on sustainability and ethical and humane issues that come to food production. There were also times that he talks about humans being too gluttonous and using too many of the the resources on Earth. Unfortunately in the last part of the book he talks about buying a 30ft Airstream to travel across country in the most hypocritical twist of events in this book. This was to say the least, extremely disappointing.
I agree with Offerman in a lot of areas, actually in most areas. However, this story was in poor taste in this book. It may have been better suited for another book of a different subject matter. This completely turned me off from this book. I was hoping at the end of this chapter he would have touched on how hypocritical this story was, and how his wealth was showing, but he did not. If he would have mentioned that, this book may have been redeemed for me.
I give this two stars because I love his writing style. Even though I am reading it in my head it is written as he speaks and I can almost hear him reading the book to me in my head. I will continue to read his books, but this one was not a winner for me sadly.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Geez, I hated this book. I only finished to check a box for my dept’s reading challenge that’s abt to end. I’m now desperate to read anything that has a clear focus instead of wandering all over the place, actually supports the points made (with ANY SOURCES AT ALL), and isn’t just the rambling of a celebrity who Thought Some Thoughts during COVID and would like to share those thoughts while occasionally mentioning going on normal hikes and sleeping in hotels, fancy houses, and airstreams. I had hoped this book would just be funny and light with some politics thrown in, but instead it was a hybrid mass that succeeded not at all (and I agree with most of his political/social positions!). Basically, I’m saying that this book felt like a poorly written 326 page English 101 essay.

I’m giving it 2/5 stars instead of 1/5 bc he introduced me to Aldo Leopold and James Rebanks. If their books are anything like the beautifully-written excerpts included here, then I will absolutely read their work.

As for this one—don’t do it. Read Aldo Leopold instead.

[Karen Rooff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely adore Nick Offerman as an actor and humorist. I don't disagree with his politics. But he lost me with the very premise of this book being about nature, sustainability, common love of the land and its resources...all while raving about his brand new Ford Expedition and 30ft fully decked out Airstream. The cognitive dissonance was too much to overcome.

[Deedee · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF! Was hoping this book would not become a political “name calling/blaming". Story going along ok and interesting until the author called a former president a “rapist’. Author has a solution to everything wrong… and it’s very clear what Political Party he is!

[La Crosse County Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nick Offerman is unquestionably most famous for playing the TV character Ron Swanson, a delightfully contradictive Libertarian government worker who loves bacon, mustaches, and practical wisdom, but outside of his acting work, I always suspected Offerman was also playing a character called Nick Offerman, where every word and every action is carefully and intentionally curated for effect. Sort of an ultra-self-awareness. This is the man we meet in his books and at his stage shows.



Offerman is known as an actor, but he also has his own touring comedy show that includes music and storytelling, and has written several best-selling books, including one with his wife, Megan Mullally. He’s also a respected woodworker with his own shop where he teaches regular folks how to work wood.

This book, subtitled The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside, is pitched as a story in three acts of a man seeking to know his planet and his place on it. But it’s more of a therapeutic catharsis, trying to reconcile the inescapable, elegant simplicity of Mother Nature with the societal chaos of the recent past.

Part one describes an excursion to Glacier National Park with two friends, all amateur outdoorsmen who have gotten comfortable in their urban lifestyles.

Part two is about a visit to a farmstead in the English countryside run by a family of deep-thinking but practical eccentrics whose agronomic philosophy is one of obedience to the earth.

Part three details a cross-country road trip in a modified Airstream trailer with his wife during the height of the Great Pandemic.

All three tales are richly detailed chronicles of the natural world and of man’s humility, or sometimes lack of it, in its presence. There are plenty of references to conservation pioneers like Aldo Leopold, John Muir, and Offerman’s sort-of mentor Wendell Berry. But while the heart of the book is a true travel and adventure tale, he also sprinkles in more than a few contemplative asides that put his experiences in context and that might not jibe with your worldview.

I’m drawn to his writing because we share many of the same basic demographics. Straight, white, middle-aged Midwestern guys who vigorously work to defy the current stereotype that someone who looks like us might, let's say, want to storm the Capitol.

His writing sometimes gets bogged down in attempts to dissect every familiar turn of phrase or to use thick self-deprecation after using a big word. (This is also known as a "humblebrag," a term coined by the late comedian and writer Harris Wittels, who worked on Parks and Recreation with Offerman.)

All in all, I give this one a thumb’s up. It’s like traveling with a very chatty but affable tour guide who will make you question your existence.

Also check out any of Offerman’s other books, including Paddle Your Own Canoe or Good Clean Fun.

KO’D

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[Brittany Shields · Rating 2 out of 5]

The deer and the antelope took a backseat to Offerman’s pretentious politics that were salivating to get their chance to roam on the range.

This book is Nick Offerman sitting atop his high horse, thesaurus in hand, shouting ‘NUANCE’ and ranting about straight white males, racism, money, Republicans, climate change, Covid, and mass-produced beef in between his frequent use of swear words and Aldo Leopold references and infrequent recountings of national parks.

If Chris Pratt or Aubrey Plaza ever write a book, I might need to avoid it because both Nick Offerman’s and Amy Poehler’s (Yes, Please) books were disappointing!

I’m a fan of Ron Swanson. His pyramid of greatness held a prominent position at my desk when I worked. When you read this book you’ll hear Swanson’s voice— Offerman bears a lot of personality resemblance to his Parks and Rec character.

Though I picked this book to fulfill a reading challenge, I was looking forward to humor and the exploration of national parks and nature. I didn’t expect to agree with his politics and would not have minded some of his opinions incorporated into this book.

But man, this book failed on all three accounts:


Lack of Humor

His attempts at humor felt forced and trying-too-hard. His overuse of big and unnecessary words made his attempts at humor quite pretentious. I love words and big vocabularies so for me to be annoyed by his writing style in this way is saying a lot!

His humor either relied on obnoxiously worded sentences, an abundance of swear words, use of millennial slang, or name-dropping that didn’t mean anything to me.

The few parts I found funny were when he was making fun of radio ads and guys who aggressively rev their engines and his chapter called Sedona Blows where he highlights how ‘awful’ Sedona is and how much no one would ever want to visit such a ‘terrible and ugly place.’ I’ve been there, and I agree… Stay away from Sedona.


Lack of Nature

I love nature. I guess probably not as much as Nick Offerman. But I usually prefer vacations with hiking rather than urban tourist traps. I thought I was going to get more anecdotes and information about various National Parks that would remind me why I love to walk in God’s creation.

He says that nature “needs to be meditated on, not an attraction to view from the car.” I agree. Unfortunately, his book didn’t get his memo because there is not much meditation.

The first few chapters were more focused on nature and we hear about a few hikes and a whitewater rafting trip. Another chapter talks about a friend’s small family farm.

But even those chapters were often overshadowed by his ranting rabbit trails. He can’t help himself. I’m pretty sure his politics are more important to him than nature.

Also, he was really annoyed by families on the trails with young kids and their “constant” yelling at their kids to stay on the trail and to stop putting stuff in their mouths. Offerman doesn’t have kids, that is quite obvious. He wants everyone to appreciate nature, but that’s not necessarily an innate trait. If we want to teach our kids to love nature, we have to TAKE them to nature. And the nature of kids is to run off the trail and put everything in their mouth. What does he want from us?!


I found it interesting that he says this: “I appreciate a regular reminder from Mother Nature that, because her power is unfathomable, and her whims unpredictable, she demands the utmost respect. Humans like me who operate deep within the protective shell of civilization can easily forget that we are not ultimately in charge of things on planet Earth.”

Obviously I don’t believe in ‘Mother Nature’ and I don’t know if Offerman believes in God, but he is confirming what the Bible tells us:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1)

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10)

Though he may not voice it in these terms, he recognizes that we are finite creatures that should stand in awe and worship our sovereign Creator.

“The disciples were amazed. ‘Who is this man?’ they asked. ‘Even the winds and waves obey him!’” (Matthew 8:27)

The power of nature, which is under the power of God, reveals to us our Creator and that is why nature is so mesmerizing!


Bold and Baseless Politics

This book is exhibit A on why America is so divided.

We do not need to all have the same politics. We have the right to state our opinion and share our thoughts. We need to be able to accept criticism and improve our beliefs where they are weak or misinformed, and we need to be unoffendable when people disagree with us.

But Offerman is operating from a very strong belief that Republicans are all that’s wrong with the world and Democrats are the only ones doing the right things for the right motives. While there are truths to certain remarks he makes, he leaves no grace for anyone who thinks differently than him.

He says, “Most of the intelligent people I run into agree on what are the big-ticket, modern questions to which we should be devoting our collective attention.”

This, among many quotes I could include imply or directly state that those who do not agree with him are idiots.

Yet, not once does he provide any evidence or support for his beliefs. He sounds like a megaphone for the mainstream narrative. He says he avoids Fox and gets his news and information from CNN and NPR and you absolutely know it because he spouts it off to a T.

He mentions the right-wing propaganda machine. And I won’t deny that there is misinformation and manipulation on both sides of the aisle, but it’s a bit ironic that he points out right-wing propaganda while espousing every single belief the left wants people to uphold.

Thaddeus Williams provides three trademarks of propaganda in his book- Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth. Propaganda:

- Offers a highly edited history that paints the most damning picture it can of a given people group
- Encourages us to treat individual neighbors as exemplars of their damnable group 
- Gives us a way to blame all of life’s troubles on that damnable group and its members 

Williams points out that these three things were used to oppress black people in history past. But they are being re-employed today. We recognize these marks in the identity groups being constructed. And I definitely see this in Offerman’s portrayal of Republicans, Christians, or straight white males.

Williams reminds us:

“Telling damnable stories about entire people groups, seeing individuals as exemplars of their groups, and blaming the hardness of life on them are really bad ideas.”

Here are just a few problematic things Offerman says in his book:

- “The path to justice and equality for all Americans and ultimately all earthlings is going to require all of us safe, white, unoppressed softies to shut the h*** up…”

He thinks to acquire justice and equality for all the earth requires white people to stop talking? That seems pretty illogical. The world is more than America. The injustices happening in the Middle East and India and China will only be fixed if white people shut up? Explain that to me. He should probably take this down a notch.

- ‘Conservative’ politics (which is a polite term for discriminatory culture… white ethno-state…”

The irony in this book is amazing. He is pro-land-conservation and says, “In so many ways that are referred to as ‘progress’, we happily leave behind such an incredible wealth of accrued human knowledge.” Of course he’s referring to farming practices, yet rejects this idea when it comes to conserving the Constitution. Apparently he doesn’t see how progressive politics leaves behind a wealth of human knowledge and experience. Conserving land=excellent, conserving the Constitution and tradition=discriminatory racism and evil.

- “…white culture that has been in power so long has been wrong in almost every way, and finding out what actually is right will require a lot of listening and then the instituting of new ideas.”

‘Wrong in almost every way’? That’s a bold statement. Wrong in a lot of ways, sure. But this is a gross exaggeration. Also, could you explain to me what white culture is?

- “[the political party he ascribes to- aka the Democrats] are the ones striving continuously toward an actual democracy while doing its best to ensure every citizen has state-funded health care and have come under fire to see one form of empathy or another delivered to some group that is being victimized in some way. The heart of their efforts is out of compassion. The Republicans are open about their desire to see the liberals suffer pain, violence, or death.”

Here is a classic example of how he attributes anything good to Democrats and gives them pure motives and then attributes everything bad to Republicans and gives them evil motives. But I think we can all agree that the majority of people are pro-justice and pro-human-flourishing. We just disagree on how that is achieved.

Granted there is a lot of inappropriate trash talk and vitriol being slung by BOTH sides. But we cannot paint people with broad strokes and assume the worst of people because of their ‘groups’ that we are wrongly lumping everyone into as if that organizes the world in a healthy and beneficial way.

Here is a fair assessment of the two major political parties given by author, Jonathan Leeman, in his excellent book How the Nations Rage. It’s long but it speaks to our need to see the good in our ‘opposition’ and see places for improvement in ourselves:

“Let me give you my own evaluation of the two main American parties… A biblical strength of the Republican Party is its emphasis on personal responsibility and not looking to government as a service provider. A biblical strength of the Democratic party is its interest in representing the disenfranchised and downcast. An idolatrous trajectory of the Republican Party is its tendency toward an amoral libertarianism, which can function according to the utlilitarian principle of sacrificing the few for the sake of the many. Its good emphasis on individual responsibility can overlook larger structural realities and deny implicit biases. And these blind spots or idolatries—and it can be one or the other—end up leaving behind the poor, the foreigner, or the minority. This is unjust. An idolatrous trajectory of the Democratic party is toward a secular godlessness that literally boos God at its national convention while also treating government as the godlike savior for all of life’s ills. Many in the party have bought into the god of self-definition and self-expression, a religion that denounces and screens out biblical morality. The party’s platform and practices prize the “liberty” of sexuality and lifestyle decisions over the life and liberty of an unborn person.”
  

Offerman has a lot of ideas of how justice and equality are achieved. He has a lot of thoughts on agriculture and farming. But as with a lot of democratic policies I’ve seen proposed— they look good on paper and they sound pleasant to the ear, but they are not practical or sustainable.

Sure, it would be great if we could all eat organic food and if the animals we are eating didn’t have to live in cages and if the entire country’s agriculture could run like a small family farm. But how can we achieve this? How can we try to stop world hunger and lower the prices of food for those who are pinching pennies if we do that?

There is, indeed, an obsession of money, but Offerman wants to make billionaires pay to “mend our errant industrial methods.” People who want to keep taxing the rich and make them pay more money for everything don’t understand how the economy works. That de-incentivizes people to make money. It’s, again, a little ironic he makes these claims because Hollywood actors get paid millions for their work but they don’t really create new jobs. The Jeff Bezos’ of the world make a lot of money but then they create hundreds of jobs for others to build wealth. Sorry, Nick Offerman, everything can’t be free.

It would be really great if we could live in a world where everyone has lots of money and land and organic food and everything is equal and everyone lives according to this ambiguous sense of ‘decency’ Offerman believes everyone should agree upon. But unlike popular opinion, people are not inherently good. People’s sin nature causes corruption and indecency and taking advantage of others. (If you don’t believe me, have kids. They don’t need to be taught to be selfish or to hit or to take what they want when they want it.) Not to mention, I don’t know how he thinks everyone agrees on what ‘decent’ means.

Communist governments have tried to make all things ‘fair’ and ‘equal’ and we see where that leads to. As much as people seem to adore government mandates these days— they do not promote freedom, they promote dangerous precedents and they kill the economy.

I will be the first to say that I don’t know a whole lot about economics, and far less about agriculture (GMOs and pesticides and such) but there was nothing in this book that did any persuading or convincing. I will keep learning and see if there’s a way to accomplish what Offerman wants to do, but the things he portrayed in this was book were told like this- “We need to do this because it’s right and it should be obvious to you and if you don’t agree you are dumb and you hate people and want to see them cry.”

I think it’s funny that all of these celebrities speak out on complex issues as if we care what they have to say. What credentials do they have to tell us what is going on in the world and how to fix it? They have a big platform and they reach a lot of people but that doesn’t mean we accept what they say as fact. How much studying have they really done?

Truth is not always the loudest or most popular voice.

Offerman offered his opinions but there wasn’t much that told me it was true.


Is There Anything Good?

The cover art, for one!

There’s always SOMETHING you can learn from even the worst books.

What I think is a really interesting thing to reflect on that he touches on in this book, is the insane consumerism that America is drenched in. Everyone used to be producers. Their farms and their homes were their places of work. The industrial revolution brought about factories and work moved outside the home. Technological advancements have made things easier and cheaper but what have we lost along the way?

It doesn’t seem like we can stop technological advancements and it doesn’t seem like we can go back. So how do we live in the world today and still be producers instead of consumers? And how does this fit into a biblical worldview where we have less and less to rely on God for and we start controlling more and more of our life?

Another positive was this quote: “I feel like we can encourage one another to invest in human beings instead of billionaire yachts that remain docked and shockingly expensive hot rods that nobody gets to drive.”

Totally! I recognize the need for governments and the forces of an economy to focus on money, but as individuals, we need to steward our time and resources to help and care for others. Just because I don’t want the government to mandate all chicken farming to be free-range doesn’t mean I expect everyone to fend for themselves.

As the body of Christ, we need to watch out for each other and provide for others when we can. This is a huge role of the church (which I might also add in here that many Democrats would like to take away tax-exempt statuses from churches who will not comply with their ideology and belief system and thus destroy churches and their ability to help others financially, so there’s that to consider.)

So the good takeaways from this book are as follows: love and care for God’s creation which includes both nature and people; and stop buying all the crap you don’t need so people stop making crap we don’t need. (I’m obviously guilty of this one on the regular…)


Conclusion

Offerman shattered the peaceful range and introduced a divisive book that feels rather pointless though it’s clear he believes his thesaurasized words to be utterly important.

If you want to read this book for the humor— it’s scarce. (Thus, it’s nomination for Best Humor is misplaced.)

If you want to read this book for the reflections and descriptions of nature— they’re scarce.

If you want to read this book because you love bold, brash politics that lack grace and support, well, I guess you might enjoy it.

But overall, I can’t think of a reason anyone would want to read this long, misleading, and unnecessary book.

I have heard good things about his book The Greatest Love Story Ever Told and I may try that one. But if it has even half of the coarse language as this book, I will have to pass.

Find a funnier book.

For something that’s actually about nature read Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park by Conor Knighton. Something tells me it might be better.

To figure out your politics read some books that are more scholarly and actually present evidence and intelligent logic to go along with their opinions.

And if you want more Nick Offerman, just watch Parks and Rec and call it good.


P.S. When did ‘lousy’ become a positive adjective??

[Amanda Galici · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried so hard to finish this book. I desperately wanted to like it. I just couldn’t take it anymore. The main issue here is that this book is not what it is marketed as. I thought I was getting into something that would inspire reverence for nature. Yes, to discuss some stances on preservation, but I was not expecting an all out political rant.

Offerman continually brought up the concept of nuance and did a great job of addressing it when it came to topics of the outdoors and farming. However, he fails to address that nuance as he completely berates people of opposing political beliefs. How convenient.

Some other contradictory points I couldn’t get past:

1) He talks about people who want society to “progress” from a sociological standpoint being the more admirable group vs. people who want things to be “conserved.” I don’t think there are many things in life that are so black and white when it comes to people and getting along. There is balance between the two… (dare I say “nuance?”). Conserve what’s working, progress through things that aren’t. I think it is important to remain open minded to others’ ideas and acknowledge that people don’t believe things for no reason even though it may be different than the conclusion you yourself arrived at. Listen and seek to understand others. He clearly isn’t interested in that as of today and I just couldn’t get past the hatred in his voice! That leads into…

2) At another point he talks about how his party has “compassion” and he will always side with that; all while acknowledging there are some bad eggs on his side of the fence who give them a bad name. However, when he speaks of the other side, it is in villainizing broad strokes. Not very compassionate. Not very acknowledging of that same fact that there are bad eggs in either case.

At the end of the day, through polarizing/hateful speech and name calling, Offerman robbed himself of the opportunity to increase visibility into those environmental issues he so clearly cares deeply about (as do I!). Truly disappointed.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's born of the understanding that we're all just doing our best, although we're selfish, clumsy humans, to get through each day with the slightest semblance of grace."

It's super gratifying to love and appreciate an entertainers work, only to discover that they are also a kickass person. I already knew Nick Offerman was awesome, but this heartfelt, candid and fucking hilarious book solidified him in my mind as a rad human that I'm so happy is putting out creative content for mindful consumption!

[Justin · Rating 1 out of 5]

In hindsight, my time would have been better spent rereading Aldo Leopold or Wendell Barry's books. Or taking a walk in the woods. Or watching beer commercials featuring a mountain stream. This book quickly devolves into "grumpy old Uncle Nick reciting Rachel Maddow monologues after Thanksgiving lunch." Also of note: Offerman liked Wilco way before they were cool. Skip this title and visit a park instead.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nick Offerman is your well read, opinionated and slightly grouchy uncle.
I loved every minute of this book, I’m so glad that it was my first read of the new year. I would like very much to walk in the woods with Offerman, a fellow outdoorsy dumbass.

[JennyCash · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reviews on this book are so divided! What did the readers with one star ratings expect? I think it's hilarious. You know they expected Ron Swanson. Sorry. Nick Offerman is an actor. Odds are he's rather liberal. Anyway, the book was very good. Much of it is his experience during 2020.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This felt like my grandpa telling me stories which are very entertaining and interesting but just a little rambling and long winded. But still love you grandpa!

[Rick Lee Lee James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect way to spend a Saturday. The best compliment I can pay it is that it makes me want to get outside and take a walk. About as close to perfect as a book can get for me. Humor, ethics, theological criticism, responsible environmentalism and Jeff Tweedy.

“Ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching—even when doing the wrong thing is legal.”
—Aldo Leopold

[Susan Tunis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today, I visited a national park named for a pirate. Much nature was appreciated, including an alligator and a barn owl! Based on the title alone, this seemed like appropriate pre- and post-hike audiobook listening.

Near the beginning of Part II of this book, Mr. Offerman posits, "Hold up a second, it seems rather unlikely, but maybe there are some of you that have come to be listeners of mine without have crossed paths with any of my several jobs as an American actor on screens of all sizes, and some stages as well."

Yes, that would be me. My biggest prior experience with the self-described humorist was with the audiobook he co-authored and narrated with his wife, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told. It was, indeed, humorous. So, I saw this latest at the library and just grabbed it--as I so often do--without even glancing at the description. (But with a subtitle like that, what more do you need to know?)

Imagine my delight upon discovering the entire first part of the book recounted a trip through Glacier National Park with two best buds, his partners in bromance, Jeff Tweedy and George Saunders. Now, I know nothing about Tweedy's music career, i.e, the thing he's famous for, but he wrote a book on creativity that I greatly admired. And George Saunders! I love George Saunders!! Not just his work, but the man himself. (And no, Karen Russell, for the last time, I will not kidnap him with you.) Suffice it to say, this was a truly unexpected treat!

But the pleasure hardly ended there. Mr. Offerman is a lovely companion with whom to spend a few hours. He doesn't give himself enough credit. Yes, he's funny, but he's also clearly very intelligent and well-informed. And his vocabulary is off the charts! While ostensibly telling stories about volunteering on a British farm, or RVing around the Southwest, he manages to opine on a wide swath of culture and political issues, from thoughts on Trump, Covid, and January 6th. And he's not afraid to let his coastal, Hollywood elitism show. Suffice it to say, I agree with the vast majority of opinions expressed.

What a happy discovery! I will, for sure, be exploring his work further.

[Christian Schultheiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful literary romp through the nations national park gems with one of the manliest, most straightforward, funniest and practical men I’ve had the pleasure of both watching and now reading as well. Everything he does literally emanates the same positive and pro learner ideology and mindset that you can instantly tell it’s him voice rambling across the pages, and so much so that I swear I could actually hear him narrate a few paragraphs. Also just the fact the I feel equally as strong in the need of preserving the worlds natural beautify, not being afraid to get at things with your hands and the realization that there actually can be a too much of a good thing makes him honestly feel like kin, almost like i can tell from the energy he gives that if we were ever blessed with mutual conversation that neither of us would lack for interesting and insightful things to talk about. I really look forward to going back through his other written tales and life lessons. And may there hopefully be more nick offermans in the world. 4.25/5

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounding up from 4.5. So I borrowed this audiobook from the library on a whim and I'm so glad I did! I don't know the author from his most popular television series (I've only seen him on Devs), but I recognized him from the "I'm really proud of you" gif that pops up regularly on Twitter (modern life!). This is narrated by the author and he's fantastic. His voice is very soothing and you can straight up hear the mirth during humorous bits. His sarcasm comes off wonderfully.

Content-wise, it was super entertaining and interesting. I loved the first part as he regales us with his adventures in Glacier National Park with Jeff Tweedy and George Saunders (the bromance!). He manages to be funny and educational about how white Europeans straight up stole the land from Native Americans. It's also a lovely telling of friendship and being in nature.

Part two was also very good, as he shares with us his new friendship with a pair of sheep farmers north of Manchester. His thoughts on the agricultural industrial complex largely mirror my own, so it was very much preaching to the choir. I love that he focuses so much on the philosophy of one of my heroes, Aldo Leopold. All in all, very good stuff.

The third part wasn't as interesting to me, as it pertained to a cross-country RV trip he took with his wife. It was mildly interesting to hear about the idiosyncrasies of RV culture, but it's not really my thing. Also after all the verbiage on reducing consumerism and having a smaller footprint on the world, it felt hypocritical to hear about the brand new airstream he purchased for the trip. He does acknowledge that he is absolutely a hypocrite, so there's that. The section on Sedona was a highlight and was hilarious. Otherwise, it's crystal clear this guy loves his wife and I thought that was pretty sweet.

He returns to certain themes throughout, such as owning up to white privilege, reparations for Native Americans and black Americans, consumerism, anti-maskers/anti-vaxxers, and right-wing extremists. I pretty much agree with him on these topics, but I can guess those on the other end of the "woke spectrum" are going to hate this book. Too bad for them because it's really great.

[Jeff Mauch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick Offerman writes in the voice of Ron Swanson, albeit with a bit more of a liberal bent. While I enjoyed the places this novel took me, National Parks and rural America, it was a bit heavier on politics than I expected, but as it took place during the pandemic, its not surprising. That aside, Offerman comes across exactly as I expected, he's the sort of guy you'd thoroughly enjoy having a beer with while you work together on a wood craft project of some kind. He's clearly still close to his roots of growing up in small town middle America, though he acknowledges and realizes the privilege he currently has, which is refreshing compared to other books I've read from similar comedic celebrities. His appreciation for nature, the outdoors, and doing things by hand the hard way are all things I related to on the deepest levels. It was this passion that I enjoyed most during this read and because of it I'll be checking out some of his other written works.

[Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick Offerman has enough in common with his Parks & Rec character Ron Swanson for me to really adore him. He’s well spoken (his voice itself is quite soothing, so I opted for the audio), intelligent, and clever. This book is his musing on nature: how to experience it, protect it, and cultivate it. The book has three parts and Offerman philosophizes on his relationship with nature through outdoor recreation in national parks and farm visits while explaining to readers the importance he finds in community.
While I enjoyed the humor, musings, and travels; I got tired of politics and Covid sprinkled throughout. We’re not removed enough from the shit show that 2020/2021 was for me to look back on the time with anything but exhaustion.
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com

[Shelby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. White man explains Native Americans to me.

I like Offerman but this book felt like an easy way for him to make money during the pandemic while entertainment production was at a halt. I completely respect artists' needs to pivot for the sake of making a living, but I'm fairly certain that Offerman would have been financially comfortable without producing a book. [Maybe it was his personal dream to write a book about agrarianism, but this isn't it.] This frustrated me because Offerman claims to idolize Wendell Berry and Aldo Leopold's anti-capitalist ethoses. He exudes an "I'm not like other celebrities" air but, although he drives a Ford Expedition rather than a Range Rover, lives in the Hollywood Hills and visits fancy campgrounds in his AirStream. It's rambly, sloppy, and completely out-of-touch. From his position of wealth, the right thing to do would be to donate the profits of this book to a grassroots Land Back organization.

[Cris · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this book zero stars for false advertising I would. The book is advertised as tales from hiking and being in the great outdoors. It does do a hike with some buddies in the very beginning and then he starts begrudging everything in America that he doesn’t agree with. I know he lives in California, and California is full of liberals, but geez. (Stereotype right! That’s what this book is filled to end!). He talked about how he walked into a restaurant and no one had mask on …please tell me how you eat with a mask on? He blamed conservatives for Covid still going on…Hello!? Please, please, tell me Mr.Offerman, how great is Mr. Biden doing? At least the lower class could and lower/middle class could afford groceries and fuel. What are people suppose to do now? Mr.Biden sniffs little girls, that’s not sick to you??? Oh this book made my blood boil!!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Due to the subtitle I ignorantly though this would consist of humorous stories about Offerman walking outside, particularly in our National Parks. Instead, this is only about 1/4 of what this book consists of. Many of the stories are of his visits to Scottish sheep farms, why organic food is better than mass produced food, RVing during Covid, and lots and lots of politics. These are all things that I would usually enjoy, and Offerman's quite funny, however that's not what I was hoping for when I picked it up. So, take my rating with a grain of salt.

My favorite part was the beginning few chapters in which he and his companions tour Glacier National Park by foot.

[Nursebookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play is an entertaining and funny musings by Nick Offerman about nature, and the community we live in. I was impressed by the amount of things I learned about ecology and the historical perspectives on nature while delivering the subject matter through a heart warming, humorous, and witty approach.

[britt_brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This revolves around trips in, and around, the American outdoors - one, a hiking excursion with George Saunders and Jeff Tweedy (yes, pls), another, Airstreaming with the fabulous Megan Mullally (yes, pls). The intention is to give a shit about others and about nature. I like that line of thinking and living, but this dragged a bit. While I usually find Offerman’s vocabulary and vernacular endearing, it started to wear on me.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this to be a series of essays, a sort of woke Patrick F. McManus- style compilation of humorous outdoorsy stories.
It wasn't that. Well, some of it was but not really in the same vein.

Hold on, I want to talk about Patrick McManus before I continue with my thoughts on Offerman's offerings of being a human in relation to Nature.

My first husband was part of a standard conservative family, the kind you think of when you think of middle-class 1950's white people, the kind who had 2.5 children and a dog and a picket fence and kept a very clean house and always served a side of iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing with the meat and potatoes, the kind who maintained their own cars and owned some hunting rifles and could field dress a deer.
They did outdoorsman stuff and they absolutely loved Patrick McManus. Since I'm someone who reads books, they gave me all of his books that had been published prior to 1995 because what reader wouldn't want that collection?
I was delighted and something like charmed with the first few of books but after those few, I started to feel funny with the ways he talked about people, including his beloved wife, Bunny. Bun? The woman he clearly adored. So I stopped reading McManus after I divorced that husband and didn't think of him again until I read this.
That's not true, I've thought of him several times over the past many decades but not nearly as many times as I did while listening to Nick Offerman read his book to my ears.

Ok, back to this book.
It is a book of essays but not in the way McManus' books are; this one is a compilation of three parts that have their own chapters, as if each essay had been serialized and then collected here for his readers' enjoyment.

The first part is about his adventures in Glacier National Park with George Saunders and Jeff Tweedy. It's delightful and amusing. I've never visited Glacier so I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the park. I've also never read George Saunders because, after cataloging several of his works, I understand he's not my type of storyteller. I'm also not a Wilco fan so, really, I was in this mainly for the park. I enjoyed my time listening to Offerman's thoughts, including his ruminations on meaningful friendships, but mostly the descriptions of nature.

The next part is about his adventures in merry old England, specifically Racy Ghyll Farm which he knew of because he stans James Rebanks' Instagram. Or maybe Tik Tok. Possibly Facebook. He stans Rebanks via social media and Rebanks was like, "Hey, I see you're a famous Hollywood person who likes me and also nature, you should come visit." And so he does and they all fall in love and go cow shopping. It's much romance.
This was my favorite long-form essay.

The final part is about his adventures with his beloved wife in their big, ol' Airstream, the Nutmeg, and this is the part that most reminded me of Mcmanus, mostly because of the ways he talks about people, including his beloved wife, Megan, the woman he clearly adores. Also, this part is jarring because of the hypocrisy it displays in light of the prior two parts. He calls out said hypocrisy a few times, citing his gas-guzzling Expedition that hauls his resource-using Nutmeg and the privilege he has in owning all these things in addition to a big house in CA and...whatever. It's their money and they've earned their nice things fair and square. It was just hard to reconcile this with everything he'd been adamantly stating previously regarding Nature's global economy and such.
His self-callout felt a little like...ok, you know how right now we seem to have two main groups of people in the world? One group seems to like to say, "I don't suck! It's everyone who doesn't think like me who sucks!" and the other group seems to say, "You know, I really suck. ... but you know who sucks more? [insert those who suck more]" It felt a little like he was in that latter group, explaining away his love of nature and how it's so unfair people aren't caring for it like they should (except for the Rebanks and George Saunders) including him but it's ok because he's aware of his part in ruining Nature? I don't know. I just felt entirely irritated while listening to this last essay.

A recurring theme throughout is the idea of "good" work, i.e. labor that produces something useful to someone, like woodworking and farm-running and cooking. Since there's "good" work, there's also "bad" work, i.e. video games. He illustrates this point by pondering the joy he feels after splitting logs versus the empty feeling he gets after completing a video game. If you don't engage in good work, then you're going to get bored and engage in bad work and that benefits no one.
I'm not on board with this line of thought. It feels dismissive and maybe skirts the line of ableist.
I agree that some work is more useful than other types of work but I don't think there's "good" work and "bad" work, unless the "bad" work is anything that's intentionally, actively destructive to the detriment of persons, environment, society, etc.
Personally, I get a huge sense of accomplishment from completing a video game and I am not sore afterward like I am when I plant my garden every spring. And what about reading? That's no different from watching TV or playing a video game, it just entertains a different part of the brain but is still entertainment.
Yeah, he has thoughts on reading. He's well-read and thinks reading is very important, so important that he rages against Blinkist, a subscription website that gives 15-minute summaries of nonfiction books and podcasts(?!?) so you can feel well-informed or maybe lessen your FOMO or maybe just cram a little more information into your brain or perhaps give yourself a quick refresher on something you read or listened to.
Their tagline is "Perfect for curious people who love to learn, busy people who don’t have time to read, and even people who aren’t into reading."
Look at that last part. Offerman did. He was appalled that people who aren't into reading would cheat by using a service that provides a summary of a nonfiction book (or a podcast, apparently) in 15 minutes so they can act like they put in the work to read it when they didn't, buncha liars and cheats. He cites a commercial in which a woman says she reads 100 titles a month, thanks to Blinkist, and so enjoyed The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World (I think it's that one) that she bought the actual book. To read.
Imagine the confused blinking I did when he read that out loud.
That is literally the outcome he should be hoping for. Someone read a summary of a book and enjoyed it so much it made them want more so they bought the book in order to read it. And if this site is getting non-readers interested in literature, why is that bad?
Similarly, he hated the idea of live tweeting an episode of "Parks and Rec" because that would take the viewer's attention away from the artistry of the show.
But, see, it also lets people who can't watch the show see what's going on and it lets viewers enjoy community involvement. While that's probably not the intent of the network, it's still a wonderful outcome.
Furthermore, he hates that there's a little icon onscreen the end of one show to let the viewer know what comes on next. It mars the story's impact because it always pops up during the denouement when everything is wrapped up.
However, this weird little icon is helpful to all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons.
Is it annoying to some of us? Yes, but it's a useful tool for others.

As you can tell, he voiced some opinions that got in my craw and gave me sour crop.
However, there were plenty of other moments that were completely enjoyable so all in all, I give this three stars and would revisit the first two parts of this book.

[thefourthvine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up because I was like, hey, humorous nature essays! I am always here for a light-hearted nature essay. I did not, when I bought this, realize that Nick Offerman is an actor, which turned out to be a big problem. Offerman clearly wrote this book assuming everyone who read it would already like him — that his audience picked up the book because of *him*. So he put a lot of himself — his opinions, his thoughts, his One Right Way to Live, his stories about other famous people I have also not heard of — into the book and relatively little, you know, nature and adventure and humor and so on. So this book is probably great if what you’d like to do is learn more about Nick Offerman. (Bonus: he doesn’t come off as a terrible person! He’s clearly just a rich white cis man who is making an attempt to be a decent human being.) It just wasn’t for me.

There’s also a weird narrative voice problem with this book that makes me think it would be way better in audiobook format. Like, this does not read like a book by someone who writes with reading pacing; it reads like a very long monologue designed to be performed. So if you do decide to pick this one up and you enjoy audiobooks, that might be the better route.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man. There was a lot of good in this book, and I enjoyed listening to Offerman read it, but it turned into rambling political name-calling. I agree with a lot of what Offerman has to say, including the value of agrarian principles, stewardship of the earth, and condemnation of Trump's idiocy. I appreciated Offerman's recognition in Part I of the nuance and context needed in policy decisions, so it was disappointing that the last two parts totally lacked any nuance. The heavy-handed commentary of a wealthy and famous white Hollywood guy as he buys a brand new Airstream towed by a brand new truck and travels around the country for two months (trying to get the best spot in each RV park) was tone-deaf and hypocritical. It would be great if he met Jessica Bruder (Nomadland) at some point and stopped talking long enough to hear her version of life on the road.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The worst book I’ve read all year! I wouldn’t have finished it if I wasn’t trying to reach my book goal for the year. He’s SOOOO political, so much so it’s not funny and kinda uncomfortable. WE GET IT. All I wanted was for Ron Swanson to talk to me about bacon, the outdoors, and how the government is the worst. This was NOT it.