Title: Desert Solitaire Pdf
Author: Edward Abbey
Published Date: 1990-01-15
Page: 269
Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire, the noted author's most enduring nonfiction work, is an account of Abbey's seasons as a ranger at Arches National Park outside Moab, Utah. Abbey reflects on the nature of the Colorado Plateau desert, on the condition of our remaining wilderness, and on the future of a civilization that cannot reconcile itself to living in the natural world. He also recounts adventures with scorpions and snakes, obstinate tourists and entrenched bureaucrats, and, most powerful of all, with his own mortality. Abbey's account of getting stranded in a rock pool down a side branch of the Grand Canyon is at once hilarious and terrifying. The New Yorker An American Masterpiece. A Forceful Encounter with a Man of Character and Courage.The New York Times Book Review Like a ride on a bucking bronco...rough, tough, combative. The author is a rebel and an eloquent loner. His is a passionately felt, deeply poetic book...set down in a lean, racing prose, in a close-knit style of power and beauty.
Desert Solitaire is a collection of vignettes about life in the wilderness and the nature of the desert itself by park ranger and conservationist, Edward Abbey. The book details the unique adventures and conflicts the author faces, from dealing with the damage caused by development of the land or excessive tourism, to discovering a dead body. However Desert Solitaire is not just a collection of one man’s stories, the book is also a philosophical memoir, full of Abbey’s reflections on the desert as a paradox, at once beautiful and liberating, but also isolating and cruel. Often compared to Thoreau’s Walden, Desert Solitaire is a powerful discussion of life’s mysteries set against the stirring backdrop of the American southwestern wilderness.
A Masterwork of Nonfiction Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey has a much deserved reputation of being one of the finest book written about the American West. Abbey spent time as a park ranger in Arches National Park in the late 60s, and in the process, traveled all around southern Utah and northern Arizona. This book is the outcome of that stay, yet it is so much more.Abbey uses this book as a platform not only to make observations about the geography, fauna and flora of Utah, but as a place to vent his spleen at the destruction of the natural world, and the dehumanizing nature of our society. The book is also filled with humor, pathos, and great sensitivity. His prose is elastic, conversational at some points, poetic and profound at others.Desert Solitaire is a master piece of non-fiction. Abbey moves from topic to topic with ease. Each piece stands alone, but they are interconnected. In a relatively short amount of space, he writes strongly and convincingly about a host of topics. For this skill, we can forgive him his obvious misanthropy. He hates everyone.Enlightening Not much to add that has not already been written by other reviewers. An excellent book. A real classic. The book gives greater meaning to recent arguments regarding "roadless" national parks. It may be this is when/where the argument first started. Abbey's views may be a bit extreme, but his points of contention have likely lead to healthy compromises and positive outcomes. Those who were raised in the city that read this book may be enlightened, others may never get it. In the book, Abbey uses the term, anthropocentric. I had to look it up. I've concluded Abbey's book begs the question, "Are humans, due to their superior intelligence, entitled to forcibly control nature and alter natural processes, or should humans, like all other species, adapt and defer to the power and wonder of nature?"Being there... OK. To fully appreciate this accumulation of experiences and stories... you need to plan a trip to Southern Utah. ( Go during a "shoulder" season so you will not have too many crowds ). You really need to actually be there. To see the horizons and stirring landscapes. And you will need to let go of any preconceived attitudes about deserts - any requirements for 5-Star anything. Take this book along and read a few chapters each evening. And you will need to allow yourself enough time to just sit... listen.. and reflect. Visit Moab and the Arches N.P. and imagine how it once was not too long ago. Head off to Dead Horse Point and then down to the Needles area - both in Canyonlands N.P. If you can, camp for a night or two. Look for the La Sal Range on the eastern horizon. In this way, I think you will develop a better appreciation for Mr. Abbey's world. A couple of chapters might be considered a bit off point, but that's all part of the experience. So --- get the book, plan your adventure... and, if the Southwest is a new experience for you, I believe you will come back home with some remarkable impressions. All enhanced by "Desert Solitude".
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