Adventures With Ed: A Portrait of Abbey

Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A.: University of New Mexico Press, 2003. First Paperback Edition . Trade Paperback. Very Good. 6" x 9. 298 Pages Indexed. Wrap-around marbled covers with large overlaid black and white portrait of Abbey smoking a cigar. Very minor cover edge and corner wear. Otherwise tight unmarked book. No writer has had a greater influence on the American west than Edward Abbey 1927-1989, author of 21 books. This memoir by one of Abbey's closest friends is a tribute to the gadfly anarchist who popularized environmental activism and articulated the spirit of the arid West in scores of other essays and articles. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Abbey came west to study at the University of New Mexico where his natural inclination toward anarchism led him to study philosophy before completing his M.A. and rejecting academic life. His 1956 novel The Brave Cowboy launched lkhis literary career. By the 1970s Abbey was recognized as a distinctly American voice. He used his talents to protest against the mining and development of the American West and by the time of his death he had become an idol to environmentalists, writers, and free spirits all over the West. The author elicidates and demystifies the Abbey legend, giving us powerful flesh and blood instead. Jack Loeffler lives in Santa Fe. Two sections of black and white photographs.