A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear - The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some 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, Grafton, NH, a barely populated settlement with one paved road, turned that plan into reality. Public funding for pretty much everything shrank: the fire department, the library, the schoolhouse. State and federal laws didn't disappear, but they got quieter: meek suggestions barely heard in the town's thick wilderness. The bears, on the other hand, were increasingly visible. Grafton's freedom-loving citizens ignored hunting laws and regulations on food disposal. They built a tent city, in an effort to get off the grid. And with a large and growing local bear population, conflict became inevitable. [This book] is both a screwball comedy and the story of a radically American commitment to freedom. Full of colorful characters, puns and jokes, and one large social experiment, it is a quintessentially American story, a bearing of our national soul"--

About the author

Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling is a freelance journalist specializing in narrative features and investigative reporting. He has been named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, won a George Polk Award, and been voted Journalist of the Year by the Maine Press association, among numerous other honors. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy, USA Today, Popular Science, Atavist Magazine, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, the Associated Press, and elsewhere. He lives in Vermont.

Summary

How the tiny town of Grafton, NH, became a radical experiment in small government--until the bear attacks started.

Foreword

How the tiny town of Grafton, NH, became a radical experiment in small government--until the bear attacks started.

Product details

• Authors: Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 15.09.2020
• EAN: 9781541788510
• ISBN: 978-1-5417-8851-0
• No. of pages: 288
• Dimensions: 154 mm x 244 mm x 30 mm
• Weight: 500 g
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; USA, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Regional Studies, HUMOR / Topic / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional, Political science & theory, Regional Studies, United States of America, USA, Regional / International studies, History of the Americas, Political science and theory, Municipal / city government, Northeastern & North Atlantic States, US Northeast: New England, Regional, state and other local government, Regional government