 edward paul abbey (january 29, 1927 â march 14, 1989) was an american author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues, criticism of public land policies, and anarchist political views. his best-known works include the novel the monkey wrench gang, which has been cited as an inspiration by radical environmental groups, and the non-fiction work desert solitaire. ==early life and education== abbey was born in indiana, pennsylvania on january 29, 1927 to mildred postlewait and paul revere abbey. mildred was a schoolteacher and a church organist, and gave abbey an appreciation for classical music and literature. paul was a socialist, anarchist, and atheist whose views strongly influenced abbey. abbey graduated from high school in indiana, pennsylvania, in 1945. eight months before his 18th birthday, when he would be faced with being drafted into the united states military, abbey decided to explore the american southwest. he traveled by foot, bus, hitchhiking, and freight train hopping. during this trip he fell in love with the desert country of the four corners region. abbey wrote: "[...]crags and pinnacles of naked rock, the dark cores of ancient volcanoes, a vast and silent emptiness smoldering with heat, color, and indecipherable significance, above which floated a small number of pure, clear, hard-edged clouds. for the first time, i felt i was getting close to the west of my deepest imaginings, the place where the tangible and the mythical became the same."for abbey's full account of this trip, see his essay [http://books.google.com/books?id=zu4yqmhetbqc&pg=pa22 "halle
1927_births 1989_deaths 20th-century_American_novelists Alumni_of_the_University_of_Edinburgh American_anarchists American_conservationists American_environmentalists American_essayists American_male_novelists American_nature_writers American_non-fiction_environmental_writers American_philosophers American_political_writers Arches_National_Park Environmental_fiction_writers Green_anarchists History_of_Pima_County,_Arizona Indiana_County,_Pennsylvania People_from_Indiana,_Pennsylvania United_States_National_Park_Service_personnel University_of_New_Mexico_alumni