EDWARD ABBEY
Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 - March 14, 1989) was an American author and
essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public
land policies. 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. Writer Larry McMurtry referred to Abbey as
the "Thoreau of the American West".
Abbey was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and grew up in nearby Home,
Pennsylvania, where there is a Pennsylvania state historical marker in his honor
In the summer of 1944 he headed west, and fell in love with the desert
country of the Four Corners region. He wrote, "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." He received a Master's Degree in philosophy
from the University of New Mexico and also studied at the University of
Edinburgh. In the late 1950s Abbey worked as a seasonal ranger for the United
States Park Service at Arches National Monument (now a national park), near the
town of Moab, Utah, which was not then known for extreme sports but for its
desolation and uranium mines. It was there that he penned the journals that
would become one of his most famous works, 1968's Desert Solitaire, which Abbey
described "...not [as] a travel guide, but an elegy."
Desert Solitaire is regarded as one of the finest nature narratives in American
literature, and has been compared to Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac and
Thoreau's Walden. In it, Abbey vividly describes the physical landscapes of
Southern Utah and delights in his isolation as a backcountry park ranger,
recounting adventures in the nearby canyon country and mountains. He also
attacks what he terms the "industrial tourism" and resulting development in the
national parks ("national parking lots"), rails against the Glen Canyon Dam, and
comments on various other subjects.
Abbey died in 1989 at the age of 62 at his home near Oracle, Arizona. He is
survived by two daughters, Susie and Becky; and three sons, Joshua, Aaron and
Benjamin.
Edward Abbey died on March 14, 1989 due to complications from surgery. Abbey
died after four days of esophageal hemorrhaging, due to esophageal verices, a
recurrent problem with one group of veins. Showing his sense of humor, he left a
message for anyone who asked about his final words: "No comment." Abbey also
left instructions on what to do with his remains. These instructions were
described in an Outside magazine article written by David Quammen in June 1989:
He wanted his body transported in the bed of a pickup truck. He wanted to be
buried as soon as possible. He wanted no undertakers. No embalming, for Godsake!
No coffin. Just an old sleeping bag... Disregard all state laws concerning
burial. "I want my body to help fertilize the growth of a cactus or cliff rose
or sagebrush or tree." said the message.
As for graveside ceremony: He wanted gunfire, and a little music. "No formal
speeches desired, though the deceased will not interfere if someone feels the
urge. But keep it all simple and brief." And then a big happy raucous wake. He
wanted more music, gay and lively music. He wanted bagpipes. "And a flood of
beer and booze! Lots of singing, dancing, talking, hollering, laughing, and
lovemaking." said the message. And meat! Beans and chilis! And corn on the cob.
Only a man deeply in love with life and hopelessly soft on humanity would
specify, from beyond the grave, that his mourners receive corn on the cob.
Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 - March 14, 1989) was an American author and
essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public
land policies. 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. Writer Larry McMurtry referred to Abbey as
the "Thoreau of the American West".
Abbey was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and grew up in nearby Home,
Pennsylvania, where there is a Pennsylvania state historical marker in his honor
In the summer of 1944 he headed west, and fell in love with the desert
country of the Four Corners region. He wrote, "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." He received a Master's Degree in philosophy
from the University of New Mexico and also studied at the University of
Edinburgh. In the late 1950s Abbey worked as a seasonal ranger for the United
States Park Service at Arches National Monument (now a national park), near the
town of Moab, Utah, which was not then known for extreme sports but for its
desolation and uranium mines. It was there that he penned the journals that
would become one of his most famous works, 1968's Desert Solitaire, which Abbey
described "...not [as] a travel guide, but an elegy."
Desert Solitaire is regarded as one of the finest nature narratives in American
literature, and has been compared to Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac and
Thoreau's Walden. In it, Abbey vividly describes the physical landscapes of
Southern Utah and delights in his isolation as a backcountry park ranger,
recounting adventures in the nearby canyon country and mountains. He also
attacks what he terms the "industrial tourism" and resulting development in the
national parks ("national parking lots"), rails against the Glen Canyon Dam, and
comments on various other subjects.
Abbey died in 1989 at the age of 62 at his home near Oracle, Arizona. He is
survived by two daughters, Susie and Becky; and three sons, Joshua, Aaron and
Benjamin.
Edward Abbey died on March 14, 1989 due to complications from surgery. Abbey
died after four days of esophageal hemorrhaging, due to esophageal verices, a
recurrent problem with one group of veins. Showing his sense of humor, he left a
message for anyone who asked about his final words: "No comment." Abbey also
left instructions on what to do with his remains. These instructions were
described in an Outside magazine article written by David Quammen in June 1989:
He wanted his body transported in the bed of a pickup truck. He wanted to be
buried as soon as possible. He wanted no undertakers. No embalming, for Godsake!
No coffin. Just an old sleeping bag... Disregard all state laws concerning
burial. "I want my body to help fertilize the growth of a cactus or cliff rose
or sagebrush or tree." said the message.
As for graveside ceremony: He wanted gunfire, and a little music. "No formal
speeches desired, though the deceased will not interfere if someone feels the
urge. But keep it all simple and brief." And then a big happy raucous wake. He
wanted more music, gay and lively music. He wanted bagpipes. "And a flood of
beer and booze! Lots of singing, dancing, talking, hollering, laughing, and
lovemaking." said the message. And meat! Beans and chilis! And corn on the cob.
Only a man deeply in love with life and hopelessly soft on humanity would
specify, from beyond the grave, that his mourners receive corn on the cob.