“This sweet virginal primitive land will metaphorically breathe a sigh of relief --like a whisper of wind--when we are all and finally gone and the place and its creations can return to their ancient procedures unobserved and undisturbed by the busy, anxious, brooding consciousness of man.”

American author and essayist

Edward Abbey was an American author and essayist, known for his environmental writing and outspoken criticism of public land policy. He lived from 1927 to 1989. Abbey wrote both fiction and nonfiction, and his work is closely associated with the American West and with a hard-edged defense of wild places. His best-known books include The Monkey Wrench Gang and Desert Solitaire. He was also noted for anarchist political views, which often shaped the force and independence of his voice.