Customer Reviews

One Life at a Time, Please

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let me say one thing right up front: Ed Abbey is my favorite author. From the lyrical imagery of "Beyond the Wall" to the alternating landscapes and polemics of "Desert Solitaire" to the introspective fiction of "The Black Sun," Abbey at his best was like no other author. That said, "One Life at a Time, Please" is not my favorite Abbey book. Always a mercurial writer, ("when he was good, he was very, very good, but when he was bad he was awful"), this is a very uneven book. Since it is a collection of essays originally written as lectures, magazine articles, and book forewards, you'd expect a certain amount of variability, but "One Life at a Time, Please" has more highs and lows than a Canyonlands relief map.

Some of the essays are very good--"A Writer's Credo" and "The Future of Sex," for example. Others, like "River of No Return," illustrate his trademark power to breathe extraordinary life into otherwise ordinary adventures. My main complaint is with the collection of essays in the section titled "Politics." In "A Writer's Credo," Abbey eloquently argues that it is the writer's responsibility to be a critic of the society in which he lives, so as to foster positive change in that society. But he seems to forget that to be effective, the writer must also persuade. The vitriolic essays in "Politics" may please existing ecodefenders but are more likely to alienate those important readers who are still undecided. If the result causes people to turn away from environmentalism rather than embrace it, they do more harm than good. Abbey himself seemed to recognize the danger of his ways in the excellent essay, "Mr Krutch."

Would I recommend the book? Absolutely yes. Those already familiar with Abbey will find it an enlightening insight into the enigmatic old misanthrope's personality. New readers will discover an often eloquent leader in 20th century environmentalism. One caution, though. If you've never read Abbey before, save the section titled "Politics" until the end. That way you'll be less likely to fling the book across the room into a roaring fireplace, or if you do, you'll at least have gotten more of your money's worth.

Of all Abbey's non-fiction titles, I liked One Life at A Time best after Desert Solitaire. It's vintage Abbey at his best. You may not agree with his political views in this book of essays. But you'll find his arguments compelling and logical. "Immigration And Other Liberal Taboos" is a classic. So is "The Future of Sex" in which he asks the question, "What is femininity?" Gloria Steinham be damned.

This book of essays gives the reader new to Abbey a brief but coherent representation of his cannon. Among favorites in the book are "Theory of Anarchy" where he outlines a lifestyle and society where the individual is priority; "Lake Powell Houseboat" where Abbey uses the pastoral wonder of the Colorado River to reflect on personal experience; and finally the flag ship essay of the entire collection: "A Writer's Credo." Here Abbey outlines the true purpose of the freelance writer "to oppose injustice, to defy power, and to speak out for the voiceless." All Abbey followers should own this book and all who are interested should buy one

Edward Abbey's curmudgeonly persona permeates this collection of essays organized by topic (politics, travel, books and art and nature love). This is one of Abbey's later books, a mish-mash of essays, magazine articles and book prefaces, and it has a disjointed feel.

When Abbey describes a journey, like his description of a houseboat trip on Lake Powell, he is magical. When he decides to be political or critical, when the desert rat Abbey comes to fore, he just comes off as too ranting, too artful, trying to hard to be clever and angry at the same time. This is always Abbey, or, I could argue, any artist, at their worst -- when they become so self conscious of their persona that they have to pander to it to maintain the illusion of it. That's at least how Abbey comes off to me in the rantings in this book.

His article about a trip to San Francisco shines when it describes his visit to Robinson Jeffers house, but could do without the pithy descriptions of his daughter and meeting with the magazine editor.

Read "One Life..." one story at a time. If you don't like one, skip it and move on. There are enough pleasing nuggets to satisfy both avid fan and neophyte alike.

Oh where is Ed now that we need him most? What would Abbey think of cell phones, the Internet, smart phones, GPS guidance systems for hiking and everything else that has changed over the last twenty years. What would Ed think of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Obama, the S and P downgrade, the Tea Party, 310 million Americans, the Dream Act, Michael Pollan, 393 CO2 and all the rest?

Abbey at his worst is better than most writers at their best. It is that simple.

Within his essay collections the introduction is always fun to read. Hunter Thompson hated writing "Introductions"; Abbey gloried in them. And, as usual, the best essay is presented first. I remember the first time I read "Free Speech". It was during my second marriage (a much abbreviated affair). The essay made me laugh out loud: I'd never read anything quite so personal, witty and rascally. It remains one of my favorite essays by Abbey. Wife Number Two failed to see the humor and, eventually, tired of me asking her along to climb a mountain or two on the weekends. I moved to the mountains to live in an "off grid solar cabin made of dirt"; she re-married a contractor with a house that has all the amenities of modern life. All happy!

And then there is the "Writer's Credo". All I can say to Abbey is: Amen!

Read Abbey. America's best, and most important, writer in my opinion (unless you love modern amenities).

This book is a collection of shorter pieces published by Edward Abbey in magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and other venues. It is organized (roughly) into the following sections: politics, travel, and literature/art. Some chapters were of greater interest to me than others, but all gave me greater insight into Edward Abbey the man, and Ed Abbey, the writer.

Highlights and controversies:

Abbey has been called lots of things, but when he was accused of being "...arrogant, incoherent, flippant, nonsensical, nasty, and unconstructive..." after publishing an anti-cattle-on-western-public-lands rant, he commented, "'Nasty and unconstructive' - I love that" (p. 3).

"The rancher (with a few honorable exceptions) is a man who strings barbed wire across the range; drills wells and bulldozes stockponds; drives off elk and antelope and bighorn sheep; poisons coyotes and prairie dogs; shoots eagles, bears, and cougars on sight; supplants the native grasses with tumbleweed, snakeweed, povertyweed, cow[manure], anthills, mud, dust, and flies. And then leans back and grins at the TV cameras and talks about how much he loves the American West" (p. 17-18).

"And if the wilderness is our true home, and if it is threatened with invasion, pillage, and destruction - as it certainly is - then we have the right to defend that home, as we would our private quarters, by whatever means are necessary" (p. 31).

"'Paw,' says my little brother, as the old man loads the shotgun, 'let me shoot the deer this time.'
'You shut up,' I say.
Our father smiles. 'Quiet,' he whispers, 'both of you. Maybe next year.' He peers down the dim path in the woods, into the gathering evening. 'Be real still now. They're a-comin'. And Ned -' He squeezes my shoulder. 'You hold that light on 'em good and steady this time.'
'Yes, sire,' I whisper back. 'Sure will, Paw'" (p. 39-40).

[This is one of Abbey's most controversial essays, in a life full of controversial essays.] "Poverty, injustice, overbreeding, overpopulation, suffering, oppression, military rule, squalor, torture, terror, massacre: these ancient evils feed and breed one one another in synergistic symbiosis. To break the cycles of pain at least two new forces are required: social equity - and birth control. Population control. Our Hispanic neighbors are groping toward this discovery. If we truly wish to help them we must stop meddling in their domestic troubles and permit them to carry out the social, political, and moral revolution which is both necessary and inevitable. Or if we must meddle, as we have always done, let us meddle for a change in a constructive way. Stop every campesino at our southern border, give him a handgun, a good rifle, and a case of ammunition, and send him home. He will know what to do with our gifts and good wishes. The people know who their enemies are" (p. 44).

"Only a fool envies the joy of a child; a grown-up man or woman shares in that joy" (p. 63).

"It seldom fails: there's something about a progress down a river that brings out the best in anyone. Getting bored with your neuroses? Drop your analyst - drop him/her like a cold potato - and make tracks for the nearest river" (p. 108).

The entire chapter titled "A Writer's Credo" is very thoughtful - pages 161-178. "He who sticks out his neck may get his head chopped off. Quite so. Nevertheless it remains the writer's moral duty to stick out the neck, whether he lives in a totalitarian state or in a relatively open society such as our own. Speak out: or take up a different trade" (p. 164).

[Quoting Joseph Wood Krutch from a recorded interview] "You see, I have this private, subjective feeling that killing things for the sake of sport is wrong. I think hunting is bad for hunters because killing for pleasure tends to brutalize those who do it" (p. 184).

And also from that interview with Krutch, "As I've said before, too many people use their automobiles not as a means to get to the parks but rather use the parks as a place to take their automobiles" (p. 185).

Intriguing, entertaining, sobering, shocking, and sometimes "nasty and unconstructive" - take these chapters one life at a time. Please.

Abbey as usual writes in a way as that I can hear him narrate the stories !His way of illustration thru the written word is as clear to me as if I were there myself.Actually I have been to many of these places myself so it

feels like I am there with Abbey and I suppose that was some of his intent!Always a great read!

This collection of essays is a wonderful snapshot of Abbey's talent. If you like these, try some of his books.

It is a collection of essays across the years. As usual in a book like this, it is uneven. Some essays are funny, inspiring, hard-hitting, others are dull. I found the best essays were when he was describing the desert Southwest. The worst were those where he was talking about the art of writing. All in all, I was glad I bought this book. It has enough good in it to overcome the bad. Thus, it is rated a 4, although some of the essays were 5's, other's were 3's.

I had great expectations after reading the first essay: Free Speech. I feel like the book went downhill from there. Abbey seems particularly fond of wandering off by himself, but frankly, when he's part of a white-water rafting excursion, I have serious doubts that they would even let him do that. I'm certain now that he's taking considerable "artistic license" in some of these essays. For me the low point was "Writer's Credo". I felt a strong level of insincerity in this piece - How can a writer feel it's his duty to criticize everyone around him without first subjecting himself to the same standards. Frankly, at best, "Credo" is just a justification for Abbey's misanthropic tendencies. At worst, it's a lie.

"Krutch" was just plain boring. "Sex" was somewhat redeeming.

I'm not sure what to say about "Sportsmen" - which as Abbey puts it, is simply excerpts from a printed leaflet. It sure was scary. The question is, with the questions raised about Abbey's honesty of description, and sincerity of purpose, how factual is this piece titled "Sportsmen"? I don't want to believe it, and Abbey spent the whole rest of the book crying wolf. I don't know.

I absolutely love some of Abbey's books. We all love "Desert Solitaire", and the charicatures of "The Monkey Wrench Gang", etc., are wonderful. But this patchwork of rehashed essays seems just like a cheap way to make some extra cash. In summary, a careful read of this bookwill likely expand your image of this writer, but leave you with questions about his veracity. I guess the next book for me will have to be "Confessions". Don't make this your first foray into Abbey's world. You're likely to miss the best.