Desert Images

by Edward Abbey

A Chanticleer Press Edition. Photos by David Muench and text by Edward Abbey. Bound in publisher's original beige cloth with the spine stamped in orange and in a beige cloth covered slipcase with the covers stamped in orange. Folio measures 17 by 10 5/8 inches. Slipcase measures 17 5/8 by 10 7/8 inches.

Genres: Photography, Nature, Westerns

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

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

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This thirty-year-old coffee table book is still one of the most stunning collections of American desert photography I've seen. The accompanying essays by Edward Abbey bring literary value to this doorstop.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel lucky to have come across this book in the Chico State University Library. Quick, steal this book before they burn it! They don't want you to know, to remember