Not a day goes by that we don’t have requests for “anything” by Edward Abbey, especially Desert Solitaire. Usually the book implied is a well thumbed, and somewhat scraggly copy to throw in the backpack – enough like the author to be fitting I suppose. Well, that is not the collection of books that came in.
We are going to offer them for sale locally for several weeks before listing them for sale through online marketplaces. If you are interested, please come in soon!
Edward Abbey (1927-1989) was not born in the desert, but adopted it wholeheartedly after his first visit at 17. He went on to author 23 books including poetry, fiction and nonfiction, plus anthologies, letters, and articles. He studied writing with Wallace Stegner at Stanford as well as philosophy and English. Most people are probably familiar with his relentless persona even if they have not read his works, but his crusty fictional characters usually personified his anarchist, environmental views. “Obey little, resist much” was a favored line. Few authors are more beloved though, for descriptive writing of the desert Southwest and appreciation of wilderness.
The collection we received was acquired over decades and includes fine first editions of numerous works, two signed first editions, biographies, and very good paperbacks of additional titles. We also have several memorial editions of the Edward Abbey Western Wilderness Calendars (1991-1994), and other ephemera. Some highlights are listed below.
