The Serpents of Paradise: A Reader
- ISBN-10
- 0805031332
- ISBN-13
- 9780805031331
- Category
- Fiction
- Pages
- 400
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1996-05-15
- Publisher
- Macmillan
- Author
- Edward Abbey
Description
From boyhood in Home, Pennsylvania, to his death in Tucson, Arizona, in 1989, this book offers - in Abbey's own words - the world of an American original. Whether writing fact or fiction, Abbey was always an autobiographer. Each of the thirty-five selections presented here, arranged chronologically by date of incident (not of publication), demonstrates that Abbey was passionately, insistently his own man. As poet-farmer Wendell Berry puts it: "He remains Edward Abbey, speaking as and for himself, fighting, literally, for dear life ... for the survival not only of nature, but of human nature, of culture, as only our heritage of works and hopes can define it". To speak for the voiceless was his mission. He was a virtuoso of the well-phrased thought in which style and content, symbol and meaning - each imbued with humor - come together to defy the powerful, reminding us always that preservation of wild nature is a key to a free spirit. And along with Emerson and Thoreau, Abbey, the uncompromising stylist, knew that the corruption of language follows the corruption of man. "Language", Abbey wrote, "seeks to transcend itself, 'to grasp the thing that has no name.'"
Get the book
Similar books
-
Paradise with Serpents: Travels in the Lost World of Paraguay
By Robert CarverRobert Carver, journalist and author of the acclaimed Among the Mountains', searches for high adventure and intense experiences as he follows the trail of a family mystery .
-
Serpent in Paradise
By Jayne Ann Krentz, Stephanie JamesAmy Shannon met Jase Lassiter at a seedy bar called The Serpent, and she should have heeded the warning in the name.
-
The Serpent of Paradise: The Story of an Indian Pilgrimage
By Miguel SerranoThe Serpent of Paradise: The Story of an Indian Pilgrimage
-
Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth
By Simon R. GreenAfter that, she went to Time Tower Square, deserted but almost untouched by the chaos all around. Lilith struck a mocking pose before the blocky stone structure that was the Tower, and called loudly for Old Father Time to come out and ...
-
The Monkey Wrench Gang
By Edward AbbeyEdward Abbey’s most popular novel, The Monkey Wrench Gang is an outrageous romp with ultra-serious undertones that is as relevant today as it was in the early days of the environmental movement.
-
The Fool's Progress: An Honest Novel
By Edward AbbeyThe Fool's Progress, the "fat masterpiece" as Edward Abbey labeled it, is his most important piece of writing: it reveals the complete Ed Abbey, from the green grass of his memory as a child in Appalachia to his approaching death in Tuscon ...
-
Slickrock: The Canyon Country of Southeast Utah
By Edward AbbeyA pictorial exposition of the natural wonders that fashion the Utah wilderness, supplemented by personal thoughts on the reasons for its conservation.
-
The Serpent's Skin
By Erina ReddanShe was never the same.' 'Peg must have had the smarts, though, ending up with her own place.' 'That was Sydney. Never knew his real name. Older fella from Sydney who kicked around with us for a bit. He got lucky one night at poker, ...
-
Paradise Block
By Alice AshA little girl boils endless eggs in her family's burnt-out flat, an isolated old woman entices a new friend with gifts of cutlery and cufflinks, and a young bride grows frustrated with her unappreciative husband, the caretaker of creaking, ...
-
The Beach
By Alex GarlandThe irresistible novel that was adapted into a major motion picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio.