Edward Abbey was an American author who advocated for environmental issues, criticized public land policies and held anarchist political views. Radical environmental groups often cite his novel, The Monkey Wrench Gang, as inspiration to their cause. Another novel, Desert Solitaire, is often compared to Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac and Thoreau’s Walden; Or, Life in the Woods.
Abbey worked as a seasonal ranger at several national parks in the US, including Arches National Monument, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, the Florida Everglades and as a fire lookout in Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Never liking to be referred to as a ‘nature writer’, Abbey once said that he didn’t understand “why so many want to read about the world out-of-doors, when it’s more interesting simply to go for a walk into the heart of it.”
Sources:
Loeffler, Jack (2003). Adventures with Ed: A Portrait of Abbey
McClintock, James I. (1994). “Edward Abbey: “An Earthiest””. Nature’s kindred spirits: Aldo Leopold, Joseph Wood Krutch, Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard, and Gary Snyder. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 67–68. ISBN 978-0-299-14174-5.
