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By James Bishop, Jr. Through Abbey's own writings and personal papers, as well as interviews
with friends and acquaintances, Bishop gives us a penetrating,
compelling, no-holds-barred view of tile life and accomplishments of
this controversial figure.
"Someday in the future, anarchists and peaceniks, people of intelligence and of freedom,
will sit and discuss the greatest writings in American natural history: those of Emerson,
Whitman, Thoreau, and Abbey.
Abbey?
Yes, Edward Paul Abbey, whose twenty-plus works will someday be recognized as members
of the pantheon, the cornerstones of real American nature-writing. James Bishop Jr.
tackles not only the writings but the legend of Cactus Ed in Epitaph for a Desert
Anarchist.
Abbey made a name for himself as a writer of the American Southwest, the desert. But
like those of Thoreau, Abbey's works are applicable to any place, a comfort to those with
like principles.
The life of Edward Abbey was an interesting one, full of marriages and sickness, of
insults and bad reviews. But it was also really a love story: Abbey in love with freedom
and nature. Bishop writes about Abbey with honesty and an even hand, not succumbing to
put-downs, insults, or even to blatant adoration. Bishop reveals the human side to Abbey, the inner conflicts that warred, the lifetime
of stubbornness, the pain left silent. Mostly we are shown that Abbey was, in the end,
merely human and not some desert spirit sent to guide us.
From The Monkey Wrench Gang to Hayduke Lives!, Abbey brought us humor,
hope, politics and adventure beyond adventure. A bright light went out with his death, but
we will always have his works.
For the Abbey newcomer or the lifelong fan, Bishop provides a clear and insightful
guide to the man, the legend, and the legacy of Cactus Ed." -- BookPeople of Moscow reviews
Softcover; 284 pages.
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