The New West of Edward Abbey

by Ann Ronald

"The New West of Edward Abbey is the first book-length study assessing the literary career of this major contemporary American author. In her perceptive examination, Ann Ronald asserts that Edward Abbey's role as social commentator and environmental activist is complemented by his guise as a writer of romance - one who reconceives the contemporary world in order to envision a better one. In examining the philosophy behind Abbey's prose, Ronald contends that Abbey's approach is subtle as well as vociferous in calling for a properly managed society that can exist in equilibrium with the bulldozers of the modern-day world.". "In an added postscript, Ronald celebrates Abbey's legacy of prose and the authored persona with which he charmed his readers, and recalls her own pleasures as a reader of his work. In his new afterword, Scott Slovic offers an assessment of Abbey's later works, including Hayduke Lives!, A Fool's Progress, Earth Apples, and journal selections published posthumously as