Desert Solitaire
by Edward Abbey
Abbey's seasons as a ranger at Arches in the 1950s: rock, heat, snakes, a dead tourist, a river trip through Glen Canyon before the dam, and a sustained argument against 'industrial tourism'. Cantankerous, funny and in love with emptiness.
Read it if…
you want solitude and wilderness argued for, not just described.
Skip it if…
you dislike opinionated narrators; Abbey is nothing but.
Three things you will actually use
- Wilderness is a necessity, not a luxury.
- Comfort and experience trade against each other.
- Go alone sometimes.
Do this first
Read the chapter on 'Polemic: Industrial Tourism' and the Glen Canyon chapter.
Our verdict
Cantankerous and in love with emptiness.
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