Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside

By: Nick Offerman

Narrated by: Nick Offerman

A humorous and rousing set of literal and figurative sojourns as well as a mission statement about comprehending, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, fueled by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times bestselling author Nick Offerman

Nick Offerman has always felt a particular affection for the Land of the Free—not just for 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 examine the people who inhabit the land, what that has meant to them and us, and to the land itself, both historically and currently.

In 2018, Wendell Berry posed a question to Nick, a query that planted the seed of this book, sending Nick on two memorable journeys with pals—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 The 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 (several of) the United States. These three quests 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 backyards; what we mean when we talk about conservation; and the importance of outdoor recreation, all subjects very close to Nick's heart.

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

Critic reviews

*An Amazon Best of the Month Pick*

“At once a travelogue, a manifesto, and a rousing call to get outside, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play is a breath of fresh alpine air, delivered by an amiable guide.” —Esquire

“The book is an amiable ramble outdoors, with Offerman sharing his assorted experiences in the wild and his musings on nature, land use, labor, agriculture, and community.” —USA Today

“Honest-to-God advice about how to enjoy nature.” —Outside magazine

“Offerman brings dry humor and a reverence for nature and physical labor to his growing understanding of capitalist and colonial horrors, all while maintaining hope for the future.”
—Seattle Times

“I found the book both entertaining and inspiring. . . . [It] has depths you may not expect from an actor/comedic performer/woodworker who goes to great lengths to entertain the audience but also has me thinking about the choices I make as I live in the world.” —John Warner, Chicago Tribune

“Offerman’s thoughtful and hilarious musings at the nexus of human life and nature, particularly through the lens of John Muir and Aldo Leopold . . . serves another welcome reminder that nature is for all.” —

“Funny, extremely sharp, and at the same time equally heartwarming, Offerman’s love for the Land of the Free shines.” —Forbes

“A timely hybrid travelogue/manifesto about the utter importance of touching grass, and so much more.” —Fast Company

"[An] insightful, witty look at his outdoorsy pursuits.” —New York Post

“A great mix of wit and perceptive observation from travels in the United States and the United Kingdom . . . with a surprising amount of history, nature, and ecology thrown in.”—Library Journal

"Laced with humor, intellect, and fierce passion, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play is an entertaining getaway to a variety of unexpected American vistas."—BookPage

Daddy Nick can whisper sweet musings to me anytime

Absolutely loved this book. Mr. Offerman takes us on a hiking tour and even across the pond to visit a little homestead as he ponders life. He specifically shines a light onto the moral struggle of living our modern lives amongst thale natural plan. Looks at shopping local and producing local, including a dive into how we might ethically sourced our food while tending to the environment.

Enlightening

I've actually only seen Nick in interviews so I don't know much about his acting career. I really enjoyed listening to Nick's stories and learning things from his perspective. I agree with pretty much all of his views, but I can understand if someone is a fan of his acting but don't agree with him politically and can't accept other people's perspectives, this might be a turn off. At the heart of the book though, Nick is agrarian (which knows no party lines) and is open minded. As long as you're sane, he's good.

I really enjoyed the stories from the Nutmeg and as someone who has been trailering for decades, I kept screaming plug it in (the7-pin plug) to work the jack! Someone please tell him!

The best thing about audiobooks read by the author is you truly get to hear their inflections, sarcasm, tone. At the end you get to hear Megan sing...such a lovely voice!

My kind of guy, my kind of listen.

This book, read by the author, provided many delightful moments. I loved his brand of sarcasm and wordplay. I learned a lot and laughed even more while traveling along to Glacier, the UK and in the Airstream, Nutmeg. This book was a refreshing adventure for this placebound pandemic survivor.

Be careful this book may hurt your feelings

Let me start by saying, if you are someone who values incompetence, hypocrisy, deceit, hatefulness, angry lying people and are hell bent on defending those of that ilk, this book is going to hurt your feelings. And to the person who said this was billed as a wilderness outdoor book and it should have stayed with that theme all the way through, at least read the cover (which last I checked wasn't detailed on Blinkist). It says "Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside".

The book is filled with self-deprecating humor starting with that first line on the cover. Nick tells it as he sees it, and I find that incredibly refreshing in an era marked with outright insanity. I found myself laughing hysterically at times, and a bit misty-eyed at others. That's the sign of a good read in my mind. I was especially fond of Parts 1 and 3, as I seemed to be able to relate precisely in many cases, to the set of circumstances he conveyed.

If parts of this book make you uncomfortable, I believe it was intended that way. If it makes you mad, then you need to take a serious look in the mirror and spend a little self-introspection time. Okay, maybe a lot of self-introspection time. Either way, it's a great read and will also challenge your knowledge of vocabulary right from the start.

Thank you Nick for not being afraid to tell it like it is and for sharing some heartfelt insight into your world, and doing it with humor and candor. I'm truly jealous of the Nutmeg! Now I'm going to start working through your other writings.

Love it

Great listen! good points of view on many things Americans need to consider. .. protect this rock were living on