This collection of Abbey essays has not aged as well as Desert Solitaire, but still contains some wonderful writing about nature and about the American west, all of it from the mountains to the deserts. Abbey presciently saw that the western U.S. was growing too fast and in ways that spelled environmental disaster in the depletion of its groundwater and river water. In several essays here he writes about this problem. Other essays, like his attempt to defend wilderness in which he cites the need for a place where rebels can hide to overthrow undemocratic governments, just failed to see the future clearly. I'd guess it's already very difficult to hide from all the surveillance satellites, drones, etc. now deployed across the globe to map it, monitor it and sometimes track own fugitives. ( )

A great collection of Edward Abbey's essays on a wide range of environmental topics. I particularly enjoyed his personal reminisces, with the highlight being a hilarious trip to Big Bend with a soon to be ex-girlfriend. Some of his essays in defense of wild places can come across as a little preachy (especially coming from a guy that personally seems to make the rules up as he goes) but the overall message is terrifically powerful. ( )