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Read it, loved it, have since bought and read all of his other work- books I will keep.
On the completion of "Desert Solitaire" by Edward Abbey Earlier today I completed reading "Desert Solitaire" by Edward Abbey, a book that was for me full of immeasurable personal connection and inspiration. By connection I mean I felt connected to the material as one is connected to their own feelings and philosophies. In many regards I feel Edward Abbey and I to exist almost as one in thought and perspective, but of course I feel equally the chasm by which every man is separated from every other. It is entirely apparent he is Edward Abbey and I am Clifford Novey- each replete with as many idiosyncrasies as one can imagine. The reading of this book took place over the period of what I would say was close to 2 months, mostly in short visits to the coffee shop and sitting in the sun. I found myself looking forward to each reading- treasuring my dog eared paperback- knowing that I was going somewhere I wanted to be- a wise place- a wild place- a place of beauty- a place of sobering reality- a place of angry outcry and of sublime affection. Southeastern Utah. The mid 60s. Ed has taken the job of park ranger for the still relatively unadulterated Arches National Monument. For a season anyway. April 1st- his first day on the job and what a few years later would be the day of my very own birth. There is the pickup truck and the little trailer- separated by 20 miles of desert and rock and pure inspiration before the next house or bar located in Moab. He makes the rounds- describes his life in the desert- his trailer- the heat- the clouds- the vultures- the plants- sand- rocks.Read more ›
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This is more than a memoir of time that Abbey spent as a ranger in the Great American Southwest - it a spirited and spiritual justification for valuing our natural heritage, and Abbey's special affinity for deserts. As a result, it is also some of the best nature writing ever produced in America. He states with great conviction "We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it." Although I expect most people reading this book already agree with that sentiment, Abbey's passion for the particular wilderness in and around Arches National Park is likely to turn even agnostic readers into advocates. Larry McMurtry's quote is right on: "Abbey is the Thoreau of the American West." He lives as a hermit during his summers at Arches, but he is not lonely, surrounded as he is by a cherished and sacred landscape full of unique flora, fauna, and formations. He also goes on several interesting adventures, among them a raft trip down the Green River, and a hiking trip to a remote area known as The Maze. We also meet many interesting characters, including a cantankerous old horse who has gone feral and lives in a box canyon. Abbey was clearly a man of strong personality and opinions - his withering views of tourists, the meaning of "development," and the (lack of) importance of making our national lands more accessible, are obvious. He is a poet, a literary-minded outdoorsman, and a philosopher. He does not just describe the frogs that inhabit the temporary waterholes that appear after early summer rains; he asks why they sing, and provides an answer that shows the relatively insignificant place he believes humans occupy in the world.Read more ›
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I enjoyed the heck out of this book. Edward Paul Abbey ("Cactus Ed") was quite a character, quite a personality, quite a man (a man's man by the way). This book is a first hand account of Abbey's adventures in and around Moab, Utah (Abbey's favorite place earth) circa 1956 and forward. I think Abbey was a freethinker (he earned a masters degree in philosophy at the UNM) who loved the wilderness and most of all the desert and canyon country of southeastern Utah. The book begins with Abbey arriving at Arches National Monument (later a national park) in 1956 to begin a seasonal job as a park ranger. He lived in a small, govt-provided trailer at the old park entrance west of Balanced Rock. He sat on a folding chair by the roadside to greet park visitors. Abbey expressed his views on how a national park should be enjoyed. His #1 mantra was "get out of your car," get out on foot and enjoy the park. Abbey discussed what he termed "industrial tourism" (along with park politics) but he also wrote about water, plants, wildlife, rock formations, the wind, sunsets and all things of the desert. A couple of my favorite chapters concerned a raft trip down the Colorado River (through Glen Canyon while the dam was under construction), climbing (scrambling) up a nearby 12-13k mountain peak, making his way to "the Maze" in Canyonlands N.P. On a day off he would help wrangle cattle. He loved to ride (horses). This guy had tons of energy and attacked life but he could also spend hours just looking at the desert, enjoying the beauty. Feeling the desert. Yes, Abbey had an FBI file but I'm sure he didn't care. Like the Tea Party he was distrustful of the govt. He seemed libertarian in his views. He loved the women. I read he had five wives. Abbey simply wanted to protect and preserve the wilderness.Read more ›
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