A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear

The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (and Some Bears)

By: Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling

A tiny American town's plans for radical self-government overlooked one hairy detail: no one told the bears.

Once upon a time, a group of libertarians got together and hatched the Free Town Project, a plan to take over an American town and completely eliminate its government. In 2004, they set their sights on Grafton, NH, a barely populated settlement with one paved road.

When they descended on Grafton, public funding for pretty much everything shrank: the fire department, the library, the schoolhouse. State and federal laws became meek suggestions, scarcely heard in the town's thick wilderness.

The anything-goes atmosphere soon caught the attention of Grafton's neighbors: the bears. Freedom-loving citizens ignored hunting laws and regulations on food disposal. They built a tent city in an effort to get off the grid. The bears smelled food and opportunity.

A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear is the sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying tale of what happens when a government disappears into the woods. Complete with gunplay, adventure, and backstabbing politicians, this is the ultimate story of a quintessential American experiment - to live free or die, perhaps from a bear.

©2020 Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling (P)2020 PublicAffairs

Critic reviews

"[A] witty and precisely observed debut....Hongoltz-Hetling skillfully probes shortcomings and ironies in the libertarian philosophy....The result is an entertaining and incisive portrait of political ideology run amok." —Publishers Weekly

"An entertaining sendup of idealistic politics and the fatal flaws of overweening self-interest." —Kirkus

"Since the beginning, Americans have been fighting about the balance between individual liberty and the common good. Hongoltz-Hetling shows what can happen when one rural New Hampshire town went to the libertarian extreme in this madcap tale that zig-zags between tragedy and farce, with the possibility of being eaten." —Colin Woodard, New York Times best-selling author of American Nations and Union

Crash course on the stupidity of Libertarianism

Libertarianism shouldn't be taken seriously as a political philosophy and this book illustrates why. They created an Ayn Rand "utopia" in New Hampshire and watched their experiment crumble as they couldn't even handle previously solved problems. They drove away everything good in the name of freedom while neighboring towns prospered through infrastructure improvements, public investments, governmental planning, and civic pride. As for the title of the book, it comes from the fact that by following Libertarian principles, they caused a rash of bear attacks in their community. A phenomenon not recorded in the area for a hundred years. The stories and people are compelling and the author made it a very interesting read.

Entertaining and surprising

I live in Enfield NH. Not far from Grafton. I knew some of the details from this book, but found it fascinating. For anybody who lives in New Hampshire or is just interested in the state this is a must read. I'm sure the Grafton bears have made their way to our bird feeder a time or two. one was destroyed. The second time it was a bit sturdier so could be repaired. I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

Eye opening

I live in Danbury, a town next to Grafton. This book was so enlightening to some of the odd happenings we have seen in the area for years.

So interesting!

1ofthebest

I'll be completely honest I didn't know what I was expecting from this book when I started. This is a very intricate and detailed story of a community told from the beginning of our nation's founding,Is through the present day.The narrator did an amazing job, reading the poetry and the stories of the people in this Community... The damages of accepting a total libertarianist society without having any form of regulation sing through this story..

Odd but good!

Plenty in here about libertarians, more than I expected about bears. A weird, meandering, take on the Free Town Project, well told and generally neutral in tone.

Most conflicted review I’ve ever written

If you’re looking for something informative stop here and go elsewhere. The book however is wildly interesting and entertaining.

At no point does the author define what a libertarian is and lumps most of the characters, many of which are absolute loons, under that banner.

Although the author is writing about history events, there is heavy emphasis on the absurd.

Anyone looking to deeply understand libertarianism needs to read Murray Rothbard’s “For a New Liberty”. This book is primarily about a crazy town and its most crazy residents.

Near the very end of this book the author casually depicts some of the characters as anarcho-communists. Once again he does not explain what that means but throughout most of the book you think you are led to believe the are libertarians.

This book is a road trip with your crazy uncle. Four stars for entertainment value. Zero stars for explaining libertarian ideology.

Buying this book to understand libertarianism would be like buying “The DaVinci Code” to understand Catholicism.

outstanding

the author tells a wonderful story of the lunacy that is libertarianism.

very funny. I purchased his new title immediately after finishing this one.

THIS THING IS WILD!

"Contrary to the libertarians expectation however, real life in the free town seemed to be almost the reverse of Rand's fictional vision"

Guns, bear, donuts, bears, legalizing incest and bum fights, more bears, guard llamas, inept survivalists, poaching, and still more bears. Do yourself a favor and check this out; the idiocy is incredible.

Short and sweet

This book feels timely with the current admin's response to the covid pandemic. It's part comedy, part tragedy. And all around fun read.

phenomenal

Excellent description of the ridiculous, counter intuitive, anti-social, selfish, and vapid ideals of the libertarian pphilosophy.