Edward Abbey Popular Books

Edward Abbey Biography & Facts

Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 – March 14, 1989) was an American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues, criticism of public land policies, and anarchist political views. His best-known works include the novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, which has been cited as an inspiration by radical environmental groups, and the non-fiction work Desert Solitaire. Early life and education Abbey was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania on January 29, 1927 to Mildred Postlewait and Paul Revere Abbey. Mildred was a schoolteacher and a church organist, and gave Abbey an appreciation for classical music and literature. Paul was a socialist, anarchist, and atheist whose views strongly influenced Abbey.Abbey graduated from high school in Indiana, Pennsylvania, in 1945. Eight months before his 18th birthday, when he would be faced with being conscripted into the U.S. military, Abbey decided to explore the American southwest. He traveled by foot, bus, hitchhiking, and freight train hopping. During this trip he fell in love with the desert country of the Four Corners region. Abbey wrote: "[...]crags and pinnacles of naked rock, the dark cores of ancient volcanoes, a vast and silent emptiness smoldering with heat, color, and indecipherable significance, above which floated a small number of pure, clear, hard-edged clouds. For the first time, I felt I was getting close to the West of my deepest imaginings, the place where the tangible and the mythical became the same."In the U.S. Army, Abbey had applied for a clerk typist position but instead he served two years as a military police officer in Italy. Abbey was promoted in the army twice but due to his knack for opposing authority, was twice demoted and was honorably discharged as a private. His experience in the military left him with a distrust for large institutions and regulations which influenced his writing throughout his career and strengthened his anarchist beliefs.When he returned to the United States, Abbey took advantage of the G.I. Bill to attend the University of New Mexico, where he received a B.A. in philosophy and English in 1951, and a master's degree in philosophy in 1956. During his time in college, Abbey supported himself by working at a variety of odd jobs, including being a newspaper reporter and bartending in Taos, New Mexico. During this time he had few male friends but had intimate relationships with a number of women. Shortly before getting his bachelor's degree, Abbey married his first wife, Jean Schmechal (another UNM student). While an undergraduate, Abbey was the editor of a student newspaper in which he published an article titled "Some Implications of Anarchy". A cover quotation of the article, "ironically attributed to Louisa May Alcott" stated "Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." University officials seized all of the copies of the issue, and removed Abbey from the editorship of the paper.Upon receiving his honorable discharge papers, he sent it back to the department with the words "Return to Sender". The FBI took note and added a note to his file which was opened in 1947 when Edward Abbey committed an act of civil disobedience; he posted a letter while in college urging people to rid themselves of their draft cards. Abbey was on the FBI’s watch-list ever since then and was watched throughout his life. In 1952 Abbey wrote a letter against the draft in times of peace and again the FBI took notice writing, "Edward Abbey is against war and military." Throughout his life the FBI took notes building a profile on Abbey, observing his movements and interviewing many people who knew him. Towards the later parts of his life Abbey learned of the FBI’s interest in him and said "I’d be insulted if they weren’t watching me".After graduating, Schmechal and Abbey traveled together to Edinburgh, Scotland, where Abbey spent a year at Edinburgh University as a Fulbright scholar. During this time, Abbey and Schmechal separated and ended their marriage. In 1951 Abbey began having an affair with Rita Deanin, who in 1952 would become his second wife after he and Schmechal divorced. Deanin and Abbey had two children, Joshua N. Abbey and Aaron Paul Abbey.Abbey's master's thesis explored anarchism and the morality of violence, asking the two questions: "To what extent is the current association between anarchism and violence warranted?" and "In so far as the association is a valid one, what arguments have the anarchists presented, explicitly or implicitly, to justify the use of violence?". After receiving his master's degree, Abbey spent 1957 at Stanford University on a Wallace Stegner Creative Writing Fellowship. Work for National Park Service In 1956 and 1957, Abbey worked as a seasonal ranger for the United States National Park Service at Arches National Monument (now a national park), near the town of Moab, Utah. Abbey held the position from April to September each year, during which time he maintained trails, greeted visitors, and collected campground fees. He lived in a house trailer that had been provided to him by the Park Service, as well as in a ramada that he built himself. During his stay at Arches, Abbey accumulated a large volume of notes and sketches which later formed the basis of his first non-fiction work, Desert Solitaire. Abbey's second son Aaron was born in 1959, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.In the 1960s Abbey worked as a seasonal park ranger at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, on the border of Arizona and Mexico. In 1961, the movie version of his second novel, The Brave Cowboy, with screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, was being shot on location in New Mexico by Kirk Douglas who had purchased the novel's screen rights and was producing and starring in the film, released in 1962 as Lonely Are the Brave. Douglas once said that when Abbey visited the film set, he looked and talked so much like friend Gary Cooper that Douglas was disconcerted. However, over 25 years later when Abbey died, Douglas wrote that he had 'never met' him. In 1981, his third novel, Fire on the Mountain, was also adapted into a TV movie by the same title.On October 16, 1965 Abbey married Judy Pepper, who accompanied Abbey as a seasonal park ranger in the Florida Everglades, and then as a fire lookout in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Judy was separated from Abbey for extended periods of time while she attended the University of Arizona to get her master's degree. During this time, Abbey slept with other women—something that Judy gradually became aware of, causing their marriage to suffer. On August 8, 1968 Pepper gave birth to a daughter, Susannah "Susie" Mildred Abbey. Ed purchased the family a home in Sabino Canyon, outside of Tucson. Judy died of leukemia on July 11, 1970, an event that crushed Abbey, causing him to go into "bouts of depression and loneliness" for years. It was to Judy that he dedicated his book Black Sun. However, the book was not an autobiogra.... Discover the Edward Abbey popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Edward Abbey books.

Best Seller Edward Abbey Books of 2024

  • White Mountain synopsis, comments

    White Mountain

    Robert Twigger

    Home to mythical kingdoms, wars and expeditions, and strange and magical beasts, the Himalayas have always loomed tall in our imagination. These mountains, home to Buddhists, Bonpo...

  • The Duff Cooper Diaries synopsis, comments

    The Duff Cooper Diaries

    John Julius Norwich

    The long awaited and highly revealing diaries of the politician, diplomat, and socialite (married to Lady Diana Cooper)'This is a fabulous, jawdropping read' SUNDAY TIMES'Duff Coop...

  • Beyond the Wall synopsis, comments

    Beyond the Wall

    Edward Abbey

    In this wise and lyrical book about landscapes of the desert and the mind, Edward Abbey guides us beyond the wall of the city and asphalt belting of superhighways to special pocket...

  • Earth Apples synopsis, comments

    Earth Apples

    Edward Abbey

    Poems about love and landscapes by the author of the classic Desert Solitaire, an “environmentalist, nature writer, novelist and allaround iconoclast” (The New York Times).   ...

  • A Friend of the Earth synopsis, comments

    A Friend of the Earth

    T.C. Boyle

    One of LitHub’s "365 Books to Start Your Climate Change Library"“Fiction about ecological disaster tends to be written in a tragic key. Boyle, by contrast, favors the darkly comic....

  • Natural Rivals synopsis, comments

    Natural Rivals

    John Clayton

    John Muir and Gifford Pinchot have often been seen as the embodiment of conflicting environmental philosophies. Muir, the preservationist and cofounder of the Sierra Club. Pinchot,...

  • The Palace synopsis, comments

    The Palace

    Gareth Russell

    The popular and “scrupulous historian” (Daily Mail, London) Gareth Russell presents five hundred years of British historyfrom King Henry VIII to Queen Elizabeth IIas seen through t...

  • This Land synopsis, comments

    This Land

    Christopher Ketcham

    “A big, bold book about public lands . . . The Desert Solitaire of our time.” Outside A hardhitting look at the battle now raging over the fate of the public lands i...

  • Finding Abbey synopsis, comments

    Finding Abbey

    Sean Prentiss

    When the great environmental writer Edward Abbey died in 1989, four of his friends buried him secretly in a hidden desert spot that no one would ever find. The final resting place ...

  • Ravenspur synopsis, comments

    Ravenspur

    Conn Iggulden

    England, 1470. A divided kingdom cannot stand. King Edward of York has been driven out of England. Queen Elizabeth and her children tremble in sanctuary at Westminster Abbey. The H...

  • Edward Abbey synopsis, comments

    Edward Abbey

    James M. Cahalan

    “The best biography ever about Ed. Cahalan’s meticulous research and thoughtful interviews have made this book the authoritative source for Abbey scholars and fans alike.” Doug Pea...

  • The Stranger in the Woods synopsis, comments

    The Stranger in the Woods

    Michael Finkel

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The remarkable true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years, making this dream a realitynot out of anger at the world, but simp...

  • Abdication synopsis, comments

    Abdication

    Juliet Nicolson

    “Goodness, Abdication really is good. I’m in awe of Juliet’s ability” (Jessica Fellowes, New York Times bestselling author of The World of Downton Abbey).England, 1936. A beloved k...

  • Behind the Throne synopsis, comments

    Behind the Throne

    Adrian Tinniswood

    An "enchanting" upstairs/downstairs history of the British royal court, from the Middle Ages to the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (Wall Street Journal). Monarchs: they're just like u...

  • The Pot Thief Who Studied Edward Abbey synopsis, comments

    The Pot Thief Who Studied Edward Abbey

    J. Michael Orenduff

    The pot thief is going back to school, but someone on campus is trying for a different kind of degreemurder in the firstin this “smartly funny series” (Anne Hillerman).   Befo...

  • The Shadow Sister synopsis, comments

    The Shadow Sister

    Lucinda Riley

    “Riley’s engaging and mesmerizing story of selfdiscovery and love...can be perfectly read as a standalone. This book will appeal to readers of Edwardian novels and Jane Austenstyle...

  • Edward Abbey Bestsellers synopsis, comments

    Edward Abbey Bestsellers

    Edward Abbey

    Three wild and suspenseful novels about standing your ground against the forces of destruction by the author of Desert Solitaire.   From the beloved author and passionate advo...

  • The Red Caddy synopsis, comments

    The Red Caddy

    Charles Bowden

    The author of Blood Orchid and Blue Desert presents a biography on his friend, the writer and environmentalist, Edward Abbey.A passionate advocate for preserving wilderness and fig...

  • Epitaph For A Desert Anarchist synopsis, comments

    Epitaph For A Desert Anarchist

    James Bishop

    Through Abbey's own writings and personal papers, as well as interviews with friends and acquaintances, Bishop gives us a penetrating, compelling, noholdsbarred view of tile life a...

  • Unsolaced synopsis, comments

    Unsolaced

    Gretel Ehrlich

    From the author of the enduring classic The Solace of Open Spaces, here is a wondrous meditation on how water, light, wind, mountain, bird, and horse have shaped her life and her u...

  • The Best of Edward Abbey synopsis, comments

    The Best of Edward Abbey

    Edward Abbey

    A mix of fiction and essays by the author described as “the Thoreau of the American West” (Larry McMurtry, The Washington Post).   Edward Abbey himself compiled this volume re...

  • The Ship of Dreams synopsis, comments

    The Ship of Dreams

    Gareth Russell

    This original and “meticulously researched retelling of history’s most infamous voyage” (Denise Kiernan, New York Times bestselling author) uses the sinking of the Titanic as a pri...

  • Journeys of Simplicity synopsis, comments

    Journeys of Simplicity

    Philip Harnden

    Where do our journeys take us? What do we leave behind? What do we carry with us? How do we find our way? You are invited to consider a more ...

  • The Best of Edward Abbey synopsis, comments

    The Best of Edward Abbey

    Edward Abbey

    A mix of fiction and essays by the author described as “the Thoreau of the American West” (Larry McMurtry, The Washington Post).   Edward Abbey himself compiled this volume re...

  • Before the Crown synopsis, comments

    Before the Crown

    Flora Harding

    Before the crown there was a love story…‘If you’re a fan of The Crown, you’ll love this’ Woman’s Weekly‘Fascinating…a beautiful love story’ WomanWindsor Castle, 1943As war rages ac...

  • Coronation synopsis, comments

    Coronation

    Roy Strong

    The definitive history of coronations and the Royal Family, from acclaimed writer Roy Strong.’What is the finest sight in the world? A Coronation.What do people talk most about? A ...

  • Confessions of a Barbarian synopsis, comments

    Confessions of a Barbarian

    Edward Abbey & David Peterson

    These eloquent meditations, philosophical musings, and whimsical doodles offer us the clearest window into the soul of this American literary legend.Few have cared more about Ameri...

  • The Great Crown Jewels Robbery of 1303 synopsis, comments

    The Great Crown Jewels Robbery of 1303

    Paul Doherty

    An insight into one of history's most cunning, yet overlooked, events...Medieval London comes to life in Paul Doherty's gripping retelling of this early attempt to steal the Crown ...

  • Wrenched from the Land synopsis, comments

    Wrenched from the Land

    ML Lincoln & Diane Sward Rapaport

    Wrenched from the Land features sixteen interviews with some of the most iconic ecowarriors to put themselves on the line for their beliefs. The activists featured in this book are...

  • The Red Caddy synopsis, comments

    The Red Caddy

    Charles Bowden

    The author of Blood Orchid and Blue Desert presents a biography on his friend, the writer and environmentalist, Edward Abbey.A passionate advocate for preserving wilderness and fig...

  • Hole in the Sky synopsis, comments

    Hole in the Sky

    William Kittredge

    William Kittredge's stunning memoir is at once autobiography, a family chronicle, and a Westerner's settling of accounts with the land he grew up in. This is the story of a grandfa...