“[From] a true independent, a self-declared extremist and ‘desert mystic’. . . . outstanding essays, travel pieces, and works of fiction” —Booklist This book is different from any other Edward Abbey book. It includes essays, travel writing and fictions to reveal Ed’s life directly, in his own words. The selections gathered here are arranged chronologically by incident, not by date of publication, to offer Edward Abbey’s life from the time he was the boy called Ned in Home, Pennsylvania, until his death in Tucson at age 62. A short note introduces each of the four parts of the book and attempts to identify what’s happening in the author’s life at the time. When relevant, some details of publishing history are provided. “This anthology, edited by his longtime editor and friend Macrae, makes for a splendid summary of his best work. . . . Anyone who doesn’t already know his work will find this volume, culled from more than a dozen books of fiction and nonfiction, an addictive introduction.” —Publishers Weekly “If your library is Abbey-deficient, this collection is essential.” —Library Journal “The announcement of a new Abbey book, whether essays or fiction, stirs a personal craving no other current American writer can satisfy.” —Los Angeles Book Review “A record as important and lovely as Muir’s and Thoreau’s.” —Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature “Abbey’s work is a kind of blessed voice in the wilderness any way you take it, and a precious figure in our lethal time.” —W.S. Merwin, US Poet Laureate

Serpent In Paradise is Dea's account of her quest for Utopia and of the heart-wrenching reality shared by the tiny community of Pitcairn Island - all descendants of the Bounty mutineers

Robert 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 .

My name is John Taylor. I’m a PI for hire in the Nightside, the dark and corrupt city within the city of London. Where the sun never shines and where pleasure and horror are always on sale—for the right price. Not a nice place to visit or a nice place to live. So you wouldn’t think I would care that it was about to be destroyed, by none other than my very own long-missing, not-quite-human mom. But I do. I was born here, I live here, and I got friends here. They might not all be acceptable in polite company, but they’re my friends, nonetheless. I know that I’m the only one who can stop her. The trick is, how to do it without fulfilling this prophecy that says whatever action I take, not only is the Nightside doomed, but the rest of the world will soon follow…

A motley crew of saboteurs wreaks havoc on the corporations destroying America’s Western wilderness in this “wildly funny, infinitely wise” classic (The Houston Chronicle). When George Washington Hayduke III returns home from war in the jungles of Southeast Asia, he finds the unspoiled West he once knew has been transformed. The pristine lands and waterways are being strip mined, dammed up, and paved over by greedy government hacks and their corrupt corporate coconspirators. And the manic, beer-guzzling, rabidly antisocial ex-Green Beret isn’t just getting mad. Hayduke plans to get even. Together with a radical feminist from the Bronx; a wealthy, billboard-torching libertarian MD; and a disgraced Mormon polygamist, Hayduke’s ready to stick it to the Man in the most creative ways imaginable. By the time they’re done, there won’t be a bridge left standing, a dam unblown, or a bulldozer unmolested from Arizona to Utah. Edward 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 author who Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove) once dubbed “The Thoreau of the American West” has written a true comedic classic with brains, heart, and soul that more than justifies the call from the Los Angeles Times Book Review that we should all “praise the earth for Edward Abbey!” “Mixes comedy and chaos with enough chase sequences to leave you hungering for more.”—The San Francisco Chronicle

How many names does Arjuna have? Why was Yama cursed? What lesson did a little mongoose teach Yudhisthira? The Kurukshetra war, fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas and which forced even the gods to take sides, may be well known, but there are innumerable stories set before, after and during the war that lend the Mahabharata its many varied shades and are largely unheard of. Award-winning author Sudha Murty reintroduces the fascinating world of India’s greatest epic through the extraordinary tales in this collection, each of which is sure to fill you with a sense of wonder and bewilderment.