Most Popular Books by Edward Abbey

A mix of fiction and essays by the author described as "the Thoreau of the American West" (Larry McMurtry, The Washington Post). Edward Abbey himself compiled this volume representing some of his greatest work—including selections from such novels as The Monkey Wrench Gang, The Brave Cowboy, and Black Sun, as well as a number of expressive and acerbic essays. Renowned for inspiring modern environmentalists—though his interests ranged as widely as the landscapes he loved—Abbey offers an entertaining introduction to his writing, including excerpts from the autobiographical Desert Solitaire, in addition to his own sketches illustrating the text throughout.

"But hell, I do like to write letters. Much easier than writing books." And write letters Ed Abbey did. In his famous -- or infamous -- 45-year career, Abbey''s cards and letters became as legendary as his books for their wit, vitriol, and ability to speak truth to power. Published here for the first time, the letters offer a fascinating, often hilarious glimpse into the mind of one of America''s most iconoclastic and beloved authors. No subject was too banal, too arcane, or too deep for Abbey to expound on: sex, cheerleaders, Mormons, Aspen, and the Bond girls are covered as gleefully as Stegner, Dylan, Chomsky, Buddhism, and betrayal. Whether scolding an editor to simplify ("I''ve had to waste hours erasing that storm of fly-shit on the typescript") or skewering the chicken-hawk proponents of the war in Vietnam, Abbey''s righteous indignation gives hope and inspiration to a generation that desperately needs both.

Down the River is a collection of essays both timeless and timely. It is an exploration of the abiding beauty of some of the last great stretches of American wilderness on voyages down rivers where the body and mind float free, and the grandeur of nature gives rise to meditations on everything from the life of Henry David Thoreau to the militarization of the open range. At the same time, it is an impassioned condemnation of what is being done to our natural heritage in the name of progress, profit, and security. Filled with fiery dawns, wild and shining rivers, and radiant sandstone canyons, it is charged as well with heartfelt, rampageous rage at human greed, blindness, and folly. It is, in short, Edward Abbey at his best, where and when we need him most.

''My favourite book about the wilderness'' Cheryl Strayed, author of WildIn this shimmering masterpiece of American nature writing, Edward Abbey ventures alone into the canyonlands of Moab, Utah, to work as a seasonal ranger for the United States National Park Service.Living out of a trailer, Abbey captures in rapt, poetic prose the landscape of the desert; a world of terracotta earth, empty skies, arching rock formations, cliffrose, juniper, pinyon pine and sand sage. His summers become spirit quests, taking him in search of wild horses and Ancient Puebloan petroglyphs, up mountains and across tribal lands, and down the Glen Canyon by river. He experiences both sides of his new home; its incredible beauty and its promise of liberation, but also its isolating, cruel side, at one point discovering a dead tourist at an isolated area of the Grand Canyon.In his own irascible style, Abbey uses his time in the desert to meditate on the tension between nature and civilisation, and outlines a personal philosophy that would come to heavily influence the environmentalist movement. Now published in a special edition to celebrate its 50th Anniversary, this classic seems remarkably prescient, and has lost none of its power.

In this wise and lyrical book about landscapes of the desert and the mind, Edward Abbey guides us beyond the wall of the city and asphalt belting of superhighways to special pockets of wilderness that stretch from the interior of Alaska to the dry lands of Mexico.

The environmentalist author of Desert Solitaire presents an autobiographical novel of an aging man''s anarchic journey across America in search of home. The Fool''s Progress, the "fat masterpiece" as Edward Abbey labeled it, is his most important piece of writing: it reveals the complete Ed Abbey, from the green grass of his memory as a child in Appalachia to his approaching death in Tucson at age sixty two. When his third wife abandons him in Tucson, boozing, misanthropic anarchist Henry Holyoak Lightcap shoots his refrigerator and sets off in a battered pick-up truck for his ancestral home in West Virginia. Accompanied only by his dying dog and his memories, the irascible warhorse (a stand-in for the "real" Abbey) begins a bizarre cross-country odyssey—determined to make peace with his past—and to wage one last war against the ravages of "progress." "A profane, wildly funny, brash, overbearing, exquisite tour de force." — The Chicago Tribune

Four irate rebels join forces to wage war on the stripminers, clear-cutters, and the highway and dam and bridge builders who are turning their natural habitat into a wasteland. A new Introduction by historian Brinkley puts this enduring cult classic in perspective by placing it at the forefront of an important historical movement.

Poems about love and landscapes by the author of the classic Desert Solitaire, an "environmentalist, nature writer, novelist and all-around iconoclast" ( The New York Times). While better known for his nature writing and his comic classic The Monkey Wrench Gang, Edward Abbey was also an enthusiastic creator of verse. The New York Times called his memoir Desert Solitaire "deeply poetic"—and now Earth Apples gives us his actual poetry, in Abbey''s first and only collection. Whether writing about vast desert landscapes, New York City, or a love of bawdy women, Abbey''s verse is eloquent, irreverent, and unapologetically passionate. The poems gathered here, published digitally for the first time, are culled from Abbey''s journals and give an insightful and unique glance into the mind of this literary legend.

A New Mexico man faces off against the government in a battle over his land in this novel by the author of Desert Solitaire. After nine months away at school, Billy Vogelin Starr returns home to his beloved New Mexico—only to find his grandfather in a standoff with the US government, which wants to take his land and turn it into an extension of the White Sands Missile Range. Facing the combined powers of the US county sheriff, the Department of the Interior, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the US Air Force, John Vogelin stands his ground—because to Vogelin, his land is his life. When backed into a corner, a tough old man like him will come out fighting . . . Fire on the Mountain is a suspenseful page-turner by "one of the very best writers to deal with the American West"—the acclaimed author of such classics as The Monkey Wrench Gang and the memoir Desert Solitaire ( The Washington Post). "Abbey is a fresh breath from the farther reaches and canyons of the diminishing frontier." — Houston Chronicle "The Thoreau of the American West." —Larry McMurtry, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Lonesome Dove

A cowboy takes on the forces of twentieth century tyranny in a tale by "the Thoreau of the American West" that became the classic film Lonely Are the Brave (Larry McMurtry, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Lonesome Dove). A rugged individualist and sometime ranch hand, Jack Burns has no love for the modern world. He is a man out of time, riding his horse through a Southwestern landscape corrupted by concrete, shopping centers, and superhighways. A stubborn loner, he lives by a personal moral code that often sets him at odds with contemporary society. And he wouldn''t have it any other way. When Jack''s brazen attempt to free a jailed friend fails, the "anarchist cowboy" becomes an outlaw overnight. Suddenly he and his chestnut mare are racing toward the New Mexican high country with the state police, the military, and the FBI in hot pursuit. His private war against authority has reached a dangerous new level. But if the powerful forces aligning against him think that Jack is going to go quietly, they''ve got another think coming. The Houston Chronicle called Edward Abbey "a fresh breath from the farther reaches and canyons of the diminishing frontier." The bestselling author of The Monkey Wrench Gang delivers a stirring tribute to individualism and the vanishing American hero. Brought to the big screen in 1962 as Lonely Are the Brave—a major motion picture starring Kirk Douglas and Walter Matthau— The Brave Cowboy is a moving and thought-provoking fable of the modern American West.

The Journey Home ranges from the surreal cityscapes of Hoboken and Manhattan to the solitary splendor of the deserts and mountains of the Southwest. It is alive with ranchers, dam builders, kissing bugs, and mountain lions. In a voice edged with chagrin, Edward Abbey offers a portrait of the American West that we’ll not soon forget, offering us the observations of a man who left the urban world behind to think about the natural world and the myths buried therein. Abbey, our foremost “ecological philosopher,” has a voice like no other. He can be wildly funny, ferociously acerbic, and unexpectedly moving as he ardently champions our natural wilderness and castigates those who would ravish it for the perverse pleasure of profit.

Three wild and suspenseful novels about standing your ground against the forces of destruction by the author of Desert Solitaire. From the beloved author and passionate advocate for the wilderness, these three novels follow some very memorable characters in their battles against strip miners, clear cutters, and government agencies destroying the environment: Fire on the Mountain: A New Mexico man faces off against everyone from the Atomic Energy Commission to the U.S. Air Force in a battle to keep his land . . . "One of the very best writers to deal with the American West."— The Washington Post The Monkey Wrench Gang: A motley crew of saboteurs wreak outrageous havoc on the corporations destroying the wilderness in this "wildly funny" tale ( The Houston Chronicle). "Mixes comedy and chaos with enough chase sequences to leave you hungering for more."— The San Francisco Chronicle Hayduke Lives!: George Washington Hayduke, ex-Green Beret, was last seen clinging to a rock face in the wilds of Utah as an armed posse hunted him down for his eco-radical crimes. Now he''s back, with a fiery need for vengeance . . . "Abbey''s latter-day Luddites, introduced in his novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, are back—and not a moment too soon." — The New York Times "I laughed out loud reading this book." — Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Abbey''s latter-day Luddites, introduced in his novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, are back—and not a moment too soon" ( The New York Times). George Washington Hayduke, ex-Green Beret, was last seen clinging to a rock face in the wilds of Utah as an armed posse hunted him down for his eco-radical crimes. Now he''s back, with a fiery need for vengeance . . . This sequel to Edward Abbey''s cult classic brings back the old gang of environmental warriors, as they battle a fundamentalist preacher intent on turning the Grand Canyon into a uranium mine—in "a fine novel, combative and comic, anarchistic and ultimately redemptive" ( Albuquerque Journal). "I laughed out loud reading this book." — Los Angeles Times Book Review

"[From] a true independent, a self-declared extremist and ''desert mystic''. . . . outstanding essays, travel pieces, and works of fiction" — Booklist This book is different from any other Edward Abbey book. It includes essays, travel writing and fictions to reveal Ed''s life directly, in his own words. The selections gathered here are arranged chronologically by incident, not by date of publication, to offer Edward Abbey''s life from the time he was the boy called Ned in Home, Pennsylvania, until his death in Tucson at age 62. A short note introduces each of the four parts of the book and attempts to identify what''s happening in the author''s life at the time. When relevant, some details of publishing history are provided. "This anthology, edited by his longtime editor and friend Macrae, makes for a splendid summary of his best work. . . . Anyone who doesn''t already know his work will find this volume, culled from more than a dozen books of fiction and nonfiction, an addictive introduction." — Publishers Weekly "If your library is Abbey-deficient, this collection is essential." — Library Journal "The announcement of a new Abbey book, whether essays or fiction, stirs a personal craving no other current American writer can satisfy." — Los Angeles Book Review "A record as important and lovely as Muir''s and Thoreau''s." —Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature "Abbey''s work is a kind of blessed voice in the wilderness any way you take it, and a precious figure in our lethal time." —W.S. Merwin, US Poet Laureate

"A thing of beauty. . . . A wildly funny, infinitely wise, near to tragic tale of man against the bog god machine." --Houston Chronicle A special 50th anniversary edition of Edward Abbey''s classic tale of rebellion, camaraderie, and environmental justice--a prescient, comic masterpiece of destructive mayhem and outrageous civil disobedience that speaks to us today--with a new introduction by the real-life inspiration for George Hayduke''s character, Doug Peacock. When Ex-Green Beret George Hayduke returns from war to find his beloved Southwestern desert threatened by industrial development, it''s up to him to take the noxious bull by the horns. Joining forces with Bronx exile and feminist saboteur Bonnie Abzug, wilderness guide and outcast Mormon Seldom Seen Smith, and libertarian billboard torcher Doc Sarvis, Hayduke is primed to fight the power. Strip miners, clear-cutters, and highway, dam, and bridge builders beware! Now, fifty years after the original publication, the Monkey Wrench Gang is on the move again. This collectible anniversary edition is both a tribute to Abbey''s legacy and a timeless call to arms for preserving the natural world. The introduction by Doug Peacock provides a window into his decades-long friendship with Abbey, and offers fresh insights into the novel''s lasting relevance and impact.

Abbey''s explorations include the familiar territory of the Rio Grande in Texas, Canyonlands National Park, and Lake Powell in Utah. He also takes readers to such varied places as Scotland, the interior of Australia, the Sierra Madre, and Isla de la Sombra in Mexico.