Edward Abbey

Edward Abbey (1927–1989) was an American author and essayist whose writing championed wilderness preservation and criticized political and corporate power. Born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, he served in the U.S. Army and later studied at the University of New Mexico. Abbey worked as a seasonal ranger and fire lookout in the American Southwest, experiences that shaped his best-known nonfiction book, *Desert Solitaire* (1968), a vivid account of life in and around Arches National Monument. His 1975 novel *The Monkey Wrench Gang* blended satire and adventure while portraying radical environmental sabotage. Abbey also wrote numerous essays and novels, becoming a distinctive, controversial voice in modern environmental literature.