I can’t believe I never got around to reading this book until now. Having grown up near Moab, Utah, I felt wave after wave of nostalgia and longing for the desert land roll over me as I turned the pages. If anyone can paint the printed page with glorious desert colors, it’s Ed Abbey. I disagree with some of his social and political views, but this didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book—because what it’s really about is the land, the wilderness, the sheer stark gorgeous wonderful reality that’s out there, waiting for us to visit, explore, and recharge.

His description of floating down Glen Canyon just before it was doomed with a dam and became Lake Powell is poignant and lovely. I’m grateful that he captured this ride through the canyon, a trip that’s now (and probably forever) impossible.

I should also remark on Abbey’s surprisingly broad command of literature, classics, philosophers, and complex vocabulary. Very impressive!