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Desert Solitaire (Paperback)
by Edward Abbey
| Category:
Desert, Nature |
| Market price: ¥ 108.00
MSL price:
¥ 98.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Desret Solitaire is a potrait of Southeastern Utah described in a most uniquely poetic way. Abbey describes people, places stories in a fashion that colors your mind and creates vision to the words and text. |
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Author: Edward Abbey
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pub. in: January, 1985
ISBN: 0345326490
Pages: 352
Measurements: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00781
Other information: Reissue edition
ISBN-13: 978-0345326492
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- MSL Picks -
"The wind will not stop. Gusts of sand swirl before me, stinging my face. But there is still too much to see and marvel at, the world very much alive in the bright light and wind, exultant with the fever of spring, the delight of morning. Strolling on, it seems to me that the strangeness and wonder of existence are emphasized here, in the desert, by the comparative sparsity of the flora and fauna: life not crowded upon life as in other places, but scattered abroad in spareness and simplicity, with a generous gift of space for each herb and bush and tree, each stem of grass, so that the living organism stands out bold and brave and vivid against the lifeless sand and barren rock. The extreme clarity of the desert light is equaled by the extreme individuation of desert life-forms. Love flowers best in openness and freedom."
This book is the author's memoir of the time he was a park ranger at Arches National Monument in Utah. Edward Abbey was a true believer in maintaining the pristine, natural beauty of the desert area under his guardianship. Abbey was extraordinarily hostile to what he called "Industrial Tourism": the construction of a system of roads through this desert wonderland which would brings thousands of tourists, their automobiles, and eventual ruination to the environment. He mentions the many pressure groups who threaten to turn Arches National Monument, and other national parks, into picnic grounds. Abbey admits that he would be happy if no tourists ever visited his park.
Abbey describes desert scenery of great natural beauty and wonder. He often hiked in the desert area on unmarked trails, carrying with him the barest provisions, often risking his life on the possibility he may never get back. Abbey concerned himself with getting to his destination first, then worry about getting back afterwards. Tourists would never even consider taking such journeys. Desert Solitaire is written in a style nearing poetry - blank verse - and was a total joy to read.
- From quoting Ross
Target readers:
General readers
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Edward Abbey was born in Home, Pennsylvania, in 1927. He was educated at the University of New Mexico and the University of Edinburgh. He died at his home in Oracle, Arizona, in 1989.
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From the publisher
"A passionately felt, deeply poetic book. It has philosophy. It has humor. It has its share of nerve-tingling adventures... set down in a lean, racing prose, in a close-knit style of power and beauty." - The New York Times book review
Edward Abbey lived for three seasons in the desert at Moab, Utah, and what he discovered about the land before him, the world around him, and the heart that beat within, is a fascinating, sometimes raucous, always personal account of a place that has already disappeared, but is worth remembering and living through again and again.
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| View all 10 comments |
Steve Alpert (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-28 00:00>
This is a collection of romance stories. Romance between a man and the land. Edward Abbey writes lovingly about the stark beauty of Arches National Park - a hard edged place of immense and awe inspiring beauty.
Weaving impressions of a summer spent as a park ranger living in a trailer with minimal comforts, Mr. Abbey exhibits his virtuosity in taking us out where the stars touch the desert. The place has a completely unique personality of its own and Abbery describes it lovingly and raw.
After World War II Moab, Utah became a boomtown for uranium mining. The wide disparity between nature's splendor and man's desire to build weapons of destruction set the stage for one unforgettable chapter, "Rocks" that I've read at least a half a dozen times.
After reading Desert Solitaire you'll want to go this magnificent part of Utah. If you've been to that part of the country and want to go back, read it. The sweep of the country and Abbey's wry wit is a thoroughly satisfying reading experience. |
Bill Weaver (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-28 00:00>
Desert Solitaire is definently worth reading. Edward Abbey is humorous and informative. His writing is very thoughtful and his plan to get rid of cars and roads in national parks (which has not been very successful) is a great idea. Too many people don't get away from the business of every day life and spend time alone with their thoughts. The book can be dry at times when he writes about twenty different kinds of flowers and their scientific names, but he is a great story-teller when he tells of his adventures. |
J. Bliss (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-28 00:00>
This book is awsome. It is hard to believe that 30 years later some of the same problems exist for the NPS. Abbey definitely was a visionary. This book is the best account of real life in a fabulous place. It takes you back to those National Park visits when life was simple and people didn't mind getting out of their car and walking. Today everyone thinks they can "experience" a park from their car, Abbey understood this was coming and didn't mind giving his idea's on the subject. The descriptions of wildlife, flora and fauna are fantastic. You can almost smell the wild flowers. If you really want to experience the canyonlands of Utah, read this book! |
Shaun Lee (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-28 00:00>
Today, in order to be a true progressive or environmentalist, one has to always be thinking about how whatever one may be doing, it is invariably negatively affecting something else. Abbey takes his season in the desert with less seriousness than most environmentalists can at the grocery store. Abbey's philosophy reflects a time when one did not have to worry about the chemicals or the genetics or the people behind his meal, and reading his book, I cannot help but feel an extreme jealousy.
Abbey's philosophy is far from extreme, making this book perfect for a wide range of people. Once in the book he kills a rabbit for the sake of a personal "experiment," he makes a case for people to carry firearms, and he eats meat and a lot of eggs. Today, any of those actions would make a progressive seem contradictory in their philosophy. When did things get so serious? Abbey has written a great book for the cause of conservative environmentalism. Conservative not in the way of the political spectrum, but rather in the way of taking things slower: He says the rise in industrial tourism will destroy the wilderness, that the automobile, while opening up nature to many more people, has cheapened its effect, and that spending a week in one spot in nature is better and spending a week in a thousand different places. The book is beautiful, and regardless of what one believes outside of the realm of environmentalism, readers will enjoy this book with the lack of seriousness that I think Abbey intended time in the wilderness should be spent. |
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