Man Bites Log: The Unlikely Adventures of a City Guy in the Woods [Paperback]

Max Alexander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 2004

Max Alexander had been the executive editor of Variety and was the senior editor at People magazine in charge of all Hollywood coverage, when he decided one day that the glitz of Tinseltown and the glamour of New York didn’t quite hold the allure they once had. So Alexander turned down yet another fancy magazine job, and family in tow, moved to a farmhouse in rural Maine, where he suddenly found himself forced to confront neighbors who “speak slowly but are hard to understand, and drive slower but are impossible to pass.” In the course of this both sobering and hilarious how-not-to, Alexander covers the gamut, from doing his best to avoid burning down the barn, and occasional intrusions from his previous life, to what E.B. White calls the “basic satisfaction of farming”—manure. Approaching what passes for small-town life in rural New England with the gusto and nose for a scoop of a seasoned Hollywood reporter, Alexander puts a new spin on the tradition launched by Thoreau’s reportage from Walden. Man Bites Log is an essential collection for readers of back-to-the-land literature, and anyone convinced that la dolce vita can be found in a pile of dung.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A hotshot entertainment editor (at Variety and later People) chucks corner offices in New York and L.A. and phone calls from Warren Beatty to burn brush and butcher pigs in Maine and lives to tell about it. City slicker–in-the-woods has been done before, as Alexander readily admits, but it's done here with honesty, charm and a good dose of self-deprecation. In short essays originally published in the Portland Phoenix, Alexander tells how, in the late 1990s, he moved to Maine with his family to get away from "the frayed excess" of city life; he ended up, as the local plumber put it, in "a real shit sandwich" of a house on 150 semiwooded acres. While Alexander continues freelance writing, he also dedicates himself to becoming a small-time farmer. Not surprisingly, the local residents—hardworking, taciturn and thrifty ("When folks in my town heard that a teaspoonful of anthrax could wipe out the whole state, they appreciated its frugality")—are the heroes of the book, teaching Alexander what he needs to know. Alexander, in turn, does his part by running for selectman, which reinforces his "sense of place." This is a wise, enjoyable chronicle of the search for a meaningful life: "to both fight and surrender in the same moment. It's as good a recipe as any for living well."
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Review

"These well-turned vignettes of a transplanted cityman...have an enduring simplicity and allure." -- Kirkus Reviews

The characters are solid and appealing, and readers will enjoy getting to know them. -- Library Journal

The new voice of a new generation fleeing skyscrapers. "Man Bites Log" is as honest as it is thoughtful. -- The (Portland) Maine Sunday Telegram

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (August 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786714123
• ISBN-13: 978-0786714124
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,023,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He got it right., January 2, 2005

By 

David Martucci "The Flag Man" (Washington, ME USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Man Bites Log: The Unlikely Adventures of a City Guy in the Woods (Paperback)

Max Alexander ran a big risk with his book "Man Bites Log". Having recently moved to Maine from "Outastate", his comments on the locals and their scene could have alienated him beyond the pale.

As one of his subjects in this work, I was apprehensive, to say the least, when the book came out. Instead, I found a totally honest and somewhat funny approach to the life up here in the woods. Max captured the flavor and feel of our community, warts and all, and as a good reporter, he got it right. His comments on the actual events surrounding our neighbors are refreshing and honest. Even if you don't agree with his political views, he lays it all out as it is, and none of this is made up. Life can be hard but the humor he finds in these events is precious to those of us who lived through it all.

I look forward to the sequel!

I highly recommend this book, especially if you are contemplating moving to the woods.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very funny, March 25, 2005

By 

Cathe Fein Olson "Avid reader and writer" (curled up with a book) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Man Bites Log: The Unlikely Adventures of a City Guy in the Woods (Paperback)

I loved this book. Alexander is a great writer. His descriptions of the characters were so vivid that I actually felt like I could see them. Like the french carpentaire - I could just see him running circles around Alexander in a whirlwind of sawing, bracing, hefting, hammering, and chainsawing. And a lot of the stories were so funny, I laughed outloud many times - to the annoyance of my husband (who is now reading the book by the way.)

The other thing I liked about this book is that Alexander manages to get a little social commentary in - his thoughts about the horribleness of trailers and why there couldn't be a nicer looking, less toxic way for people to get a low cost home or the ludicriousness of asking people to go into debt for the sake of patriotism are questions I would like to see asked more often.

I can't say that every single story in this book was a gem - but most of them were really great. I highly recommend this book.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Man bites log--E.B. White reborn, January 1, 2005

By 

Guy Bourrie (Washington,ME USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Man Bites Log: The Unlikely Adventures of a City Guy in the Woods (Paperback)

One Man's Meat may well have been a log, at least judging from a back-to-back reading of E.B. White's "One Man's Meat" and Max Alexander's "Man Bites Log". The prime difference lies in the time frame: Mr. White writing from a pre and WWII time frame and Mr. Alexander from a turn of the century (21st). Having shared the same back roads and shopping experiences with Alexander, I find his thoughts on the contrasts of urban and rural lifestyles to be honest and witty to say the least. Maine is "The Way Life Should Be" and to those of us who make this state our home, it is the way life is. Alexander captures the heartiness and joy of this lifestyle in his collection of essays. What E.B. White gave to our fathers and mothers, Max Alexander deals up fresh for a new generation that holds close to the values of former times. Thank you Max, for a work well done.