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Desert solitaire
First published 1968 · 352 pages
A fierce, sun-baked love letter to the American Southwest that bites as hard as it swoons.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting by a campfire with a brilliant, cantankerous philosopher who alternates between pointing out the breathtaking beauty of the stars and raging against the machine of modern civilization. The pace is meandering, mirroring a long hike through the red rock canyons of Utah, allowing you to soak in the sun-baked, solitary atmosphere. The prose is a striking mix of the deeply lyrical and the unapologetically abrasive, capturing the rugged texture of the desert itself. It is an experience that shifts from quiet reverence to fiery indignation. This is a perfect read for those who crave the silence of wild spaces, harbor a healthy dose of misanthropy, and want to feel the raw, untamed pulse of the earth.
- Mood
- sun-baked
- solitary
- contemplative
- rugged
- awe-struck
- Tone
- cantankerous
- reverent
- cynical
- passionate
- wry
- Pace
- meandering
- Themes
- wilderness preservation · solitude and isolation · anti-industrialism · the intrinsic value of nature · grief for lost landscapes
- The writing
- Lyrical and muscular, blending poetic descriptions of the landscape with sharp, polemical rants.
- The arc
- Moves from a deep, solitary reverence for the untouched desert to a fiery, impassioned grief over its inevitable destruction.
- Who it's for
- Nature lovers and philosophical misanthropes who crave solitude and feel a fierce protective instinct over wild spaces.
Content notes
- animal death
- anti-government sentiment
About the book
An account of the author's experiences, observations, and reflections as a seasonal park ranger in southeast Utah.
When Desert Solitaire was first published in 1968, it became the focus of a nationwide cult. Rude and sensitive. Thought-provoking and mystical. Angry and loving. Both Abbey and this book are all of these and more. Here, the legendary author of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Abbey's Road and many other critically acclaimed books vividly captures the essence of his life during three seasons as a park ranger in southeastern Utah. This is a rare view of a quest to experience nature in its purest form -- the silence, the struggle, the overwhelming beauty. But this is also the gripping, anguished cry of a man of character who challenges the growing exploitation of the wilderness by oil and mining interests, as well as by the tourist industry. Abbey's observations and challenges remain as relevant now as the day he wrote them. Today, Desert Solitaire asks if any of our incalculable natural treasures can be saved before the bulldozers strike again.
"... Desert solitaire was first published in 1968"--P. [4] of cover. "A Touchstone book."
Description from Open Library.
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