A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear

A honey of a tale!
The title of this book raised three expectations in my mind: I will hear about rather committed libertarians; I will learn something about animals, particularly bears; and I will have fun doing it. I am pleased to report that A Libertarian Walks into a Bear met all three expectations!
New Hampshire, with its motto of “Live Free or Die” and town meetings where all the residents make major decisions for the town, sounds like fertile ground for an experiment in libertarian living. Grafton, NH, a small isolated community of about 560 households, looked like a good choice for a group of libertarians, who moved to Grafton in 2004 to “’liberate’ it from the strangling yokes of government.” The “group”, if it can really be called that, each had their individual notions of personal freedom, and it was as interesting to hear the disagreements within the Free Towners as it was to learn about the clashes with other townspeople and authorities.
This book is thought-provoking, and I believe one of its strengths is that it lets the readers develop their own thoughts. This is not a book where the author tirelessly grinds his axe and portrays the situation as very black-and-white. The reader gets to see both the benefits and the warts of less government and more government, more freedom and less freedom. Many people could agree with the libertarians’ push to allow them to grow marijuana or own a gun but draw the line at allowing adults to have sex with young minors or telling people if they want the road in front of their house to be maintained they should do it themselves. At the other end of the spectrum the excessive bureaucracy of the government at times clearly stands in the way of helping the citizens.
New England people have a reputation for being colorful and quirky, and there are plenty of them in Grafton. Author Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling portrays them with warmth and sympathy, no matter where they stand on the political spectrum. I was especially drawn to Jessica Soule, a Navy veteran and ex-Moonie whose kittens were snatched from her yard by a bear. And I was glad not to be in the shoes of libertarian firefighter John Babiarz, who is faced with the ethical dilemma of being called to put out an open fire built by a group of libertarians to cook hot dogs when the area was experiencing a severe drought and open fires had been prohibited.
So what about the bears? Some might feel the bear theme, which plays a major role in the book (Highlighted by the presence of wonderful chapter epigrams mentioning bears from people like Charles Dickens and Abraham Lincoln) is irrelevant to the main theme, but I felt it was a brilliant ingredient. Rural New Hampshire is full of wildlife that gives the humans joy and heartache and presents beauty and danger. It is not surprising that there are differences of opinion in how to deal with this element of life and that those differences can have significant consequences. Bears are a good example in themselves and a wonderful metaphor for the broader issues.
In the course of spinning the yarn of the Free Town of Grafton , Hongoltz-Hetling takes a number of side trips. Some were closely related, such as the story of how the elite community of Hanover, NH, site of Dartmouth College, handled its bear problem. Others seem less relevant, like the story of Nobel winner Charles Nicolle, a French doctor working in Tunisia who discovered the toxoplasmosa gondii pathogen. In the hands of a less skilled writer, I tend to get impatient at such deviations from the main storyline, but these were reliably both fascinating, informative, and relevant.
Who would enjoy this book? A major factor in helping me decide how much I enjoyed a book is how many friends I want to recommend it to, and in this case the list is long. My libertarian-leaning friends (No, I doubt any of them would have moved to Free Town. ), my liberal friends, history-loving friends, friends with a sense of humor. As a matter of fact, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books that make you think without hitting you over the head with the author’s thesis. As a matter of fact, if I were not somewhat libertarian-inclined myself, I might even call it required reading.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC.

This was an unexpected gem of a book.

A mix of natural history, small town ethnography, and politics, A Libertarian Walks into a Bear is about a village in New Hampshire suffering from two infestations: libertarians and bears. Gafton, NH already has a long history of tax avoidance. However, as the town becomes a libertarian utopia experiment, humans aren't the only creatures who come calling. The story serves as a fascinating microcosm for declining public services versus nature.

I can't convey how well written this book is and how it so skillfully weaves together multiple topics. The tone is broadly irreverent yet quite respectful to the various characters who makes appearances. I wasn't expecting this to be a page turner, but it absolutely was. (I found out later that Mr. Hongoltz-Hetling is a Putilzer-Prize finalist and a George Polk Award winner. Getting to observe a master at their craft is a treat.)

I thought the toxoplasmosis theory and its lead-up felt a bit indulgent, but this is a small quibble.

Highly recommended

Who could tell it's possible to write a funny book about politics!?
'A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear' (I admire the pun!) is a funny-not-funny title that both made me laugh and taught me a thing or two about how the world works.
It's not a book for everyone but if you are even mildly interested in politics, you're gonna love this one!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and feelings are my own.