Edward Abbey 25 Years Later

[planet54]

Edward Abbey died 25 years ago today, March 14 1989.I know from reading this forum for several years that he has a lot of fans here and probably some critics. I have read most of his books several times and consider him to be my favorite author. His writings have what I like; adventure ,humor, sarcasm and the always present theme of protecting the wilderness.
I thought I'd start a topic so you can give us your thoughts about him and share a quote or two.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Abbey" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government"
"society is like a pot of stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you get a lot of scum on the top"
"grown men do not need leaders"

[OscarMayerSweener]

Awesome post. I'm currently digging into Monkey Wrench Gang for the second time. I'll leave you with this:

"Resist much, obey little."

[Jim Davies]

While I love Abbey's writing, I consider him a bit of a hypocrite. This was a guy that wrote about monkeywrenching and dreamed of blowing up Glen Canyon dam to restore the wilderness, but also threw beer cans out the window of his pickup truck while driving to his government job. A very interesting person, to be sure.

From your title, I was halfway expecting so see a picture of his bleached bones lying in the Utah desert ("George Mallory, 75 years later").

[OscarMayerSweener]

Not saying I agree with littering at all, but this might help shed some light on Abbey's often satirical approach to life (which can be hard for people to agree with).

""Any road I wasn't consulted about that I don't like, I litter. It's my religion."

[planet54]

While I love Abbey's writing, I consider him a bit of a hypocrite. This was a guy that wrote about monkeywrenching and dreamed of blowing up Glen Canyon dam to restore the wilderness, but also threw beer cans out the window of his pickup truck while driving to his government job. A very interesting person, to be sure.

From your title, I was halfway expecting so see a picture of his bleached bones lying in the Utah desert ("George Mallory, 75 years later").

In another thread you said that you liked steak. Read what Ed has to say about government subsidies for things like " range improvement"----tree chaining , sagebrush clearing, ,mesquite poisoning , disease control , predator trapping, fencing, wells, stockponds and roads. Aren't we all hypocrites in some way?

Oops, I read your post about steak too casually because I always skip over anything that Dex brings up. I gotcha now.

[Jim Davies]

I like metaphors, too.

Googling "edward abbey hypocrisy" turns up a lot of interesting discussions on this topic. Here's one:

It's a tricky slope to negotiate when you're surrounded by roads (and using them) and protesting one more.
This sort of paradox was apparent even to the anarchist Abbey, whose biography recounts a hike he took into Utah's Pariah Canyon one summer. At the bottom of the canyon, he and his companions were compelled to free a cow that had gotten itself stuck. All the while, Abbey "complained vociferously about these 'hooved locusts' grazing everywhere on public lands" — until a companion "pointed out to the bemused Abbey his hypocrisy in ordering a steak the same night."

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/6001 ... tml?pg=all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I love wilderness, but think we should manage it to benefit people, not to satisfy some purist ideal. I also want to live my life without unnecessarily causing grief to others. I consider people who litter to be inconsiderate idiots. Abbey was, IMO, a manipulator, and it clearly worked. People revere his "ideals" while ignoring his reality.

[ezabielski]

While I love Abbey's writing, I consider him a bit of a hypocrite. This was a guy that wrote about monkeywrenching and dreamed of blowing up Glen Canyon dam to restore the wilderness, but also threw beer cans out the window of his pickup truck while driving to his government job. A very interesting person, to be sure.

From your title, I was halfway expecting so see a picture of his bleached bones lying in the Utah desert ("George Mallory, 75 years later").

Abbey actually explains this in the Monkey Wrench Gang through Hayduke. Basically, he (Hayduke) doesn't care about littering on highways because he didn't get asked for the highway to get put there. He considers the highway itself to be a grievous destruction of the landscape.

On Abbey and hypocrisy in general, I don't think he would even care if you called him a hypocrite. He would probably find a beautifully blunt and radical way to justify being hypocritical. I think the only thing Ed Abbey needed to worry about being consistent on was that wilderness (true wilderness, free of roads, infrastructure, safety, etc) always supersedes the ("cancerous") growth of civilization.

[Jim Davies]

That he wouldn't care just demonstrates that he was a jerk.

He also once rolled a tire over the rim into the Grand Canyon. Apparently fun was higher on his list than preserving wilderness. I'm sure he'd justify it by pointing out that there was a trail below. What a jerk.

[planet54]

Abbey was, IMO, a manipulator, and it clearly worked. People revere his "ideals" while ignoring his reality

I don't worship Ed Abbey or anyone else for that matter, but I like his style and what he wrote about. He was and still is through his writings a gadfly. The Monkey Wrench Gang is a novel,
an author isn't necessarily the characters he writes about. Although there seems to be an alter-ego thing going on in that book as well as Hayduke Lives.

[ezabielski]

Ed Abbey didn't want to be worshipped. In Abbey's Road, he says "I don't like being called a guru. Every man should be his own guru." Furthermore, he says that he is not a social commentator: "My role, I see myself as an entertainer. I try to write good books, make people laugh, make them cry... provoke them, make them angry, make them think, if possible. Get a reaction, give pleasure."

It seems like, 25 years after his death, it's working.

In the Monkey Wrench Gang, if the characters are based on real life people that Abbey met (frequently proposed), it's unreasonable to project the characters philosophies onto Abbey.

[broncotw]

This guy seems like a riot... I would like to read one of his books..... What book is his best for someone who has never read any of his work?

[Jim Davies]

Desert Solitaire for nonfiction, The Monkey Wrench Gang for fiction. Both great reads.