Edward Abbey essays

Edward Abbey essays What entertains many and exasperates others is Abbeys unique prose voice. Alternately misanthropic and sentimental, enraged and hilarious, it is the voice of a full-blooded man airing his passions-Peter Carlson, People Magazine. Edward Abbey was born January 29, 1927 in Indiana, Pennsylvania around the village of Home. Today, if you travel down Route 119 ( 10 miles north of Indiana) you can find a state historical marker commemorating Edward, adjacent to the Home village marker. As a child, he was the oldest of five children. Because he grew up during the Great Depression, his family was poor. His father held many different jobs, while his mother taught school and played the organ in church. Edward enjoyed writing his own comic books. His literally talents began at an early age. During high however, he failed journalism, twice. Before he joined the Army in 1943-47, Edward decided to travel around the country. He hitchhiked out west where he saw the many different landscape s for the first time. He then was stationed in Naples, Italy. After returning home from the army, he first attended college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, then University of New Mexico where he wrote his masters thesis on Anarchism and the Morality of Violence. He then finally ended up attending the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Through his schooling, his academic studies concentrated on Philosophy but he was also interested in anarchism. Edward Abbeys true passion was the American West, especially the desert. He wrote about his love for the west and the environment. Most people considered him a radical on environmental issues, but he considered himself just an author. His first two books were: Jonathan Troy (1954) and The Brave Cowboy (1956), where he wrote about the traditional western hero and his struggles. Abbeys reputation started to grow ...