Edward Abbey
Edward Abbey was born in 1927 in the Appalachian area of Pennsylvania. He was the oldest of five children born to a family of Scotch-German descent. His anti-capitalist father was a trapper and logger with Marxist leanings; his religious mother was a school teacher. As a child he wrote his own comic books but did not pass journalism in high school. Abbey graduated in 1945 from high school, where he was a top student. Thinking he would be drafted into the army, he decided to tour the country first. At age 17 he hitchhiked west. From 1943-1947 he served in the army. The day he completed basic training in Alabama, the Japanese surrendered. The rest of his hitch was spent in Naples, Italy as a motorcycle MP. When he returned to the States in 1947, Abbey entered the University of New Mexico; this is where he became interested in writing and served as editor for the student literary magazine, "The Thunderbird
Abbey died on March 14, 1989, but he has become even more popular since his death. "His reputation has erupted to such proportions that even his closest friends have difficulty separating the man from the legend, truth from fantasy. Abbey was a man wholoved the earth and he will always be recognized as one of the great ones! ." He ultimately took his MA in Philosophy from there. He resided in the Southwest from 1947 until his death. Home to him was Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada--the whole Southwest. Although he preferred country life, Abbey still wanted to live within 50 or 60 miles of a city. Because Abbey used humor in all that he did, he made very few enemies. This sense of humor showed in his remarks at the beginning of his last book of essays, One Life at a Time, Please. Abbey quipped, "If there's anyone still present whom I've failed to insult . . . I apologize." His last novel, Hayduk
Some common words found in the essay are:
Nevada--the Southwest, Appalachian Pennsylvania, Hayduke Lives, Frank Waters's, Glen Canyon, Canyon Dam, University Mexico, Mike Lacey, Please Abbey, Naples Italy, hayduke lives, wing nor, glen canyon,
Approximate Word count = 613
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)
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