The Serpents of Paradise

New York: Henry Holt, 1995. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/no jacket. Light shelf wear to tips, corners, and edges of the book, no jacket. Clean and unmarked. First printing, full number line. Edward Abbey (1927 – 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 environmental groups, and the non-fiction work Desert Solitaire. "This anthology, ( Serpents of Paradise) edited by his longtime editor and friend Macrae, makes for a splendid summary of his best work though it does not slight his faults. Abbey was above all a committed craftsman ("I write to make a difference"); and his passions about the rape by ranchers and the industrial powers of his beloved Western desert country, the progressive disintegration of the quality of modern life, the dread development that would "democratize" wilderness by making it easily accessible to all are on plain view. So, too, are his liabilities: his occasional outbursts of xenophobia and old-fashioned sexism, his gleefully overweening destructive fantasies. Abbey was an anarchist at heart, an often difficult loner who would probably find life unendurable in any organized, populous society. But as an analyst and gadfly of so many contemporary absurdities, and as a powerfully lyrical chronicler of desert solitudes and communion with nonhuman nature (something like Barry Lopez in a snit), he is in a class by himself. Anyone who doesn't already know his work will find this volume, culled from more than a dozen books of fiction and nonfiction, an addictive introduction."--Publishers Weekly. Books and other items ship promptly with a tracking number and (generally over $15.00) jacket protectors if applicable. Clean recycled packing material will be used when possible. The Book Shed has a been a member of the Vermont Antiquarian Bookseller's Association since 1997. An online bookseller with a bookshop sensibility!