In Search of Edward Abbey
My wife and I decided to visit our youngest child this weekend. He’s a socially concerned and active college student, and like most kids, he enjoys being away at school but also enjoys an occasional visit from his parents. We’re close and share many interests, not the least of which are books.
After a hearty breakfast Saturday morning at a local dive, we decided to check out a local used bookstore near campus. It’s a jewel of a place, with thousands of books of all different types and ages. I could easily spend an entire day browsing in a place like this, and it’s the kind of place that leaves me convinced (more than ever) that electronic books are evil. Surely the spawn of Satan or whatever Dark Lord rules the capitalist realm.
One of the first things I do in any bookstore, as if this is the real measure of its worth, is to see what the Abbey selection is like. Well, let me tell ya, this place was the mother lode. When I walked in the door, the first thing I noticed was a case full of first editions, and right on the top shelf sat a copy of Black Sun. Exciting, but since I already have that first edition and bought it for less than the $150.00 asking price at this establishment, I moved on.
In addition to nearly every Abbey work, they had several jewels that made the trip home with me:
Appalachian Wilderness, The Great Smoky Mountains, Eliot Porter and Edward Abbey, 1973
Mother Earth News, “Edward Abbey’s Parting Shot, An Excerpt from Hayduke Lives!”, Nov./Dec. 1989
Mother Earth News, “Edward Abbey: The Ethics of Eco-Sabotage“, May-June 1984
Desert Images, Photos by David Muench and text by Edward Abbey, third printing, 1987 (this is, of course, another one of the large coffee table books…a massive one)
Coyote In The Maze, edited by Peter Quigley, a collection of essays and literary criticism of Ed’s works
The Mother Earth News Interview is incredible. Ed discusses his views on monkeywrenching and the difference between monkeywrenching (sabotage) and terrorism, his views on cowboys and ranching, the effects of industrial capitalism and even religion. It’s a must read if you’re an Abbey fan and somehow missed it or haven’t seen it in years.
It’s here, so enjoy….