Appalachian Wilderness: The Great Smoky Mountains

by Edward Abbey, Eliot Porter (Photographer)

Here is a majestic portrait of the Appalachians -- from the wonders of its natural beauty to its fascinating history. In 48 Full-color Photographs of veiled mountains, lush woodlands, rushing highland streams, and fields of dazzling wildflowers, Eliot Porter captures the extraordinary beauty of the Smoky Mountains and the surrounding wilderness. Edward Abbey's text, filled with the sensitive insights and idiosyncratic perspective that characterize all his works, explores the human history of Appalachia, describing the native Cherokees and the mountaineers who followed them. In a moving epilogue, Harry Caudill discusses the lives of the mountain people today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography, Nature, Travel

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Edward Paul Abbey (1927–1989) was an American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues, criticism of public land policies, and anarchist political views.

Abbey attended college in New Mexico and then worked as a park ranger and fire lookout for the National Park Service in the Southwest. It was during this time that he developed the relationship with the area’s environment that influenced his writing. During his service, he was in close proximity to the ruins of ancient Native American cultures and saw the expansion and destruction of modern civilization.

His love for nature and extreme distrust of the industrial world influenced much of his work and helped garner a cult following.

Abbey died on March 14, 1989, due to complications from surgery. He was buried as he had requested: in a sleeping bag—no embalming fluid, no casket. His body was secretly interred in an unmarked grave in southern Arizona.

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The late American photographer, Eliot Porter understood the power of color in photographs. His images are just stunning and I feel moved whenever I see his landscapes. The Appalachians with their wide variety of trees: gorgeous dogwood, sourwood, spruce, hemlock, maple, pine and fir are captured perfectly. I am looking forward to enjoying his other books in the future. Edward Abbey wrote the interesting text. Five stars.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book for the photographs: large, beautiful images of Appalachian plants, each neatly labeled with its scientific name. On that front, it delivers.

The text, however, is something else entirely. It reads like a long, unfiltered rant from a man writing more than half a century ago—angry about religion, dismissive of belief, convinced that everything is myth (including science), and broadly pessimistic about people and capitalism alike. These tirades are scattered between the photographs, occasionally interrupted by excerpts of poetry from well-known writers such as e. e. cummings.

The juxtaposition is bizarre: calm, precise images of plants paired with an almost relentless philosophical grievance. There is a certain anthropological interest in peering into the mindset of a stranger from another era, but that novelty wears thin.

Ultimately, the book works best as a visual reference. The plants are lovely; the commentary is not. I found myself flipping past the author’s words and lingering only on the photographs, which, frankly, is where this book shines.

[David Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Appalachian Wilderness: The Great Smoky Mountains by Eliot Porter (text by Edward Abbey) (Bristol Park Books 2010)(917.68) Brilliant photos by Eliot Porter and text by the legendary Edward Abbey of "Monkey Wrench Gang" fame make this portrait of the Great Smokies memorable. The history of people in Appalachia through the present day is explored. My rating: 4/10, finished 2/8/2011.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite written work by Edward Abbey! Yes, I even like it more than Desert Solitaire.

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it when I was homesick. It helped.