Desert SolitaireHailed by The New York Times as “a passionately felt, deeply poetic book,” the moving autobiographical work of Edward Abbey, considered the Thoreau of the American West, and his passion for the southwestern wilderness. 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. |
Contents
The First Morning | 1 |
The Serpents of Paradise | 15 |
Industrial Tourism | 39 |
Copyright | |
8 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Arches Arches National Monument Billy-Joe birds blackbrush blue boats boots camp canteen canyon country canyon walls cliff cliffrose climb clouds Colorado Colorado River cottonwood cowboy coyotes crawled Creek dark dead deer Delicate Arch desert drink dust Elaterite eyes feet fire flowers Glen Canyon gopher snake Graham Grand Canyon green hackamore Hanksville head heat horned owl horse housetrailer human Husk Indians juniper Kaiparowits Plateau leave ledge light living look Mesa miles Moab Moon-Eye mountains national parks Navajo never Newcomb night paddle Park Service pinyon pine pool quicksand rain Ralph ranger river road Roan Cliffs rock rope sand sandstone seems shade side canyon snake snow spring stone stream things tourists trail trailer tree truck Tukuhnikivats uranium Utah Viviano wait walk watch Waterman wild wilderness willow wind