Summary Of Desert Solitaire By Edward Abbey

Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness recounts the experiences Abbey has as a park ranger for the Arches National Monument in the 1950s. This autobiography—which is considered one of the most important works of nature writing—mixes activism, observation, and philosophy. From what began as Abbey’s notes kept while staying in the Arches National Monument, Abbey book explores the plants and animals who inhabit the National Park, the uniqueness of the Colorado River, and the relationship between people and their environment. The book opens with Abbey’s first morning as a ranger in the Canyonlands surrounding Moab, Utah. It was really his first sight of the desert because when he drove in the night before over the dirt road,

There are times in the book where he becomes lonely and wants human interaction, but for the most part he enjoys isolation, away from the hustle and bustle of industrialization and development. Abbey is a protector of the wild and that is made apparent when he argues against the development of the Arches National Monument. He dedicates a large portion of his book to delineating the possible negative effects of transforming the raw, beautiful land which he loves into a zoo of tourists driving vehicles on paved roads straight through the Park. However, the Nation Park Service has continued to develop so many of the National Parks by paving roads and constructing buildings and erecting billboards. Abbey voices his strong opinion about these paved roads, which he believes will only make it easier for lazy Americans to view some well-known formations in the Park without experiencing and appreciating the true wonder of the Canyonlands on foot. Abbey claims that humans lack respect for the natural landscape to damage it so much and are encompassed by either greed, ignorance, or

The Department of Agriculture has noticeably lowered the numbers of bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, and wildcats. As a result, the population of these predators preys—rabbits and deer—have exploded. Abbey raises awareness that human presence and manipulation has altered the fragile balance of the desert ecosystem.

Mining is another topic discussed in Desert Solitaire because of the vast amount of people who fled to the southeast of Utah in search of riches. Abbey explains the human instinctive characteristic of greed within these pages. For some, their greed launched them into success, and others failed while trying to find shale oil buried under the desert lands. Abbey tells a story about a man who moved with his family to Utah to have his shot at finding riches. Because of their voracity, the father, his son, and the man who encouraged them to commit to the hunt all died. In his loneliness, Abbey would sometimes find jobs closer to Moab. One spring he even was a wrangler for a local rancher and he round up cattle. He embarked on many adventures, including travelling to and staying in the Havasu settlement of Native Americans, rafting through the Glen Canyon, and climbing Mount Tukuhnikivatz. All and all, Abbey’s time in the Canyonlands were magnificent and eye-opening; however, Abbey returned to civilization after a few years in search of a sense of