Fantastic record of Edward Abbey talking about his favorite place. There are other videos to watch, too.

thank you for sharing!

Great video. You may be interested in this DVD release of Lonely are the Brave. There are spoilers in the description so don't read it all. I saw it on VHS and it blew me away-this DVD release is great news.
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/37744/lonely-are-the-brave/

Very nice! Desert Solitaire was my first wilderness read- Its been down hill for me ever since and up!.. I really like his sense of humor.

One of the highlights of my life was meeting him shortly before he died and having a twenty minute conversation with him about writing. He gave me some great advice and sealed my desire to be a nature writer/ photographer/ illustrator.

Here's an excerpt from one of my all time favorite books, Desert Solitaire.

Edited by butuki on 07/22/2010 09:59:33 MDT.

Thanks, Miguel, what a treat! I've been an Abbey fan for years but never got to meet him.

My favorite part of Desert Solitaire (although it's hard to pick one; all of it is marvelous) is the dance of the mating snakes in Chapter 2.

I love the whole book, too, but one part I remember vividly is when he is alone and decides to clamber down some drop offs amidst the slickrock and discovers that he can't get back up. The way he wrote it still sends shivers down my spine.

My favorite part of the book as well Miguel.

Thanks for the great video link.

Desert Solitaire one of my all time favorites.

A quote from him that I like:

The real work of men was hunting meat. The invention of agriculture was a giant step in the wrong direction, leading to serfdom, cities, and empire. From a race of hunters, artists, warriors, and tamers of horses, we degraded ourselves to what we are now: clerks, functionaries, laborers, entertainers, processors of information.

- Edward Abbey

It's impossible to read that excerpt from Desert Solitaire and not feel like you're there, with the cold wind, the coming dawn...while reading it I can even imagine the steam from a cup of joe and my breath in the morning air.

Abbey was an icon, for sure.