Did I miss something?

Congrats, Dave!

Dave got a new staff? Pretty cool. I have used on for a long, long time. I tried trekking poles for a while, but have pretty much given them up. More people should try staffs, if even only for the reason they look cool.

He definitely deserves it. Congrats, Dave!

Does this mean you'll be publishing an Edward Abbey primer any time soon? I want to begin reading his work, and academic resources are always a plus for me on that realm.

Yep, I got upgraded. Not as cool as Gandalf's, but not bad.

Thanks everyone.

That idea is peculating, Clayton.

You should just start reading, Clayton. Everything. Some of the most enjoyable, refreshing writing ever. They you can read it again with a primer ;) Start with Desert Solitaire and some essays to get to know him a bit before reading his fiction imo. I think I'd read all of his non fiction stuff three times before I read any of his fiction. Black Sun is probably my favorite of his fiction but MWG is one of the funniest, most enjoyable books I can think of.

Edited by brendans on 01/24/2012 10:04:02 MST.

Okay, educate me. What on earth is a primer?

A primer on a person would provide you an introduction or overview of his work, enough so that you would get the gist of what he was all about.

It's also a way in which you demonstrate a beginning mastery of a craft like embroidery or another handicraft /skill. For EA that would take some doing. But having read him in the late 60's it was great to be in Arches and freaking out at 11 at night when this huge Winnabargo spam can tried to land on our two Eureka tents. A West German rental not used to the rear view mirror. The ranger was about like us. He said" Carry a rubber ball and shove it just in the exhaust pipe. That will kill the engine and the rest of it and puzzle them. Take it away and use it again." My kind of all too Lone Ranger.

"A primer on a person would provide you an introduction or overview of his work, enough so that you would get the gist of what he was all about."

Okay, then I recommend that one read his books, you will soon understand what he was about. And a Google search should provide much more information quickly, but to me that would be irrelevant, let his work be his statement of what and who he was.

I read most of his books and three remain in my library for another read every so often; "Abbey's Road," "Desert Solitaire," and "Down the River." Some of his stuff was a little too eco-terrorist for me, but those three books are well written and I enjoy them a lot.

I will warn you that Abbey was curmudgeonly, like me, so that is one reason why I like him. Because he was in the news a lot I remember much about him. His personal life was a mess, so someone might make a judgement and not read him. That would be a shame.

So read the books and you will know exactly what he was about. Most are short and can be read in a night or two.

I believe Clayton's reference to Abbey is due to Dave's study of philosophy and Abbey. From Dave's website:

"I was trained in continental philosophy by one of world’s leading Friedrich Nietzsche scholars, and believe that Abbey’s work (Solitaire being the most singular example) has flown under the radar as one of the best extent answers to Nietsche’s problem of nihilism. Nietzsche says that the dominant western ethics and epistemology (best embodied by institutional Christianity) of the last millenia have been iatrogenic, that is, they’ve made worse the problems they were meant to cure. If that foundation is destroyed, as it must be, what system of meaning will take its place?"

Hence the idea that Dave might write a primer on Abbey.

Well Abbey did have a masters in philosophy, but I would not say his writings had much influence on philosophy, one can see his philosophy as a thin thread in his writings, but he was somewhat inconsistent. Anyway, I stand by the comment to just read his stuff, then draw your own conclusions.

I've read enough of Abbey to know his style and what he was about. And I probably will just pick up Desert Solitaire and finish it this year. I'll probably be able to learn on my own with some good research most of what he'd publish there.

My primary interest in Dave writing a primer is the conversations that it would create. I've always found that it's in engaging the ideas and perspectives of others that I learn the most. The community and discussion on a site like this would be invaluable.

"My primary interest in Dave writing a primer is the conversations that it would create. I've always found that it's in engaging the ideas and perspectives of others that I learn the most. The community and discussion on a site like this would be invaluable."

Ah, but philosophy is the core of each person's world-view and core values (even if they don't know where their ideas came from), and here these discussions normally get into heated chaff debates (I am a guilty of this). But Abbey and I would probably agree that all roads to and through wilderness areas should be destroyed, starting with Yosemite... probably not a popular idea on BPL :) and other than that, we have little in common :)