This is a funny and fascinating account of Grafton, a town in New Hampshire which was the site of a political experiment – an attempt to prove the value of libertarian ideas, by cutting taxes and dismantling all local government. The local library, church, fire department, among others, were all slashed in name of freedom.

It’s fair to say this went… poorly. Bears took a particular interest in the town, which was a rich supply of food, and where residents had an uncoordinated response to the presence of bears. One resident might be putting down seeds and doughnuts, while their neighbour was cowering indoors from a recent bear encounter.

The book discusses the history of bear management in Grafton, and how human presence has irreversibly affected bears – even if they were left alone, they wouldn’t revert to the wild bears that pre-date human settlement.

It was a compelling, interesting read that was grounded in stories of individuals rather than abstract political theory, like:

• the woman who left out doughnuts for the bears, and enjoyed watching them eat
• the church pastor who couldn’t get a tax exemption because he refused to acknowledge the authority of the IRS
• the women who were attacked by bears, and got blame rather than sympathy from the community

It could be a lot more critical of libertarianism, but I felt it tried to give them a fair outing. The author talked to a lot of the residents about what they hoped to achieve with the experiment, regardless of what was actually achieved.

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