“Down the River” by Edward Abbey

“Down the River” by Edward Abbey

A Carolina Paddler Book Report

By Jeff Hatcher

Penguin Publishing Group, 1981, 256 pages

-Edward Abbey worked as a forest service ranger, his first gig as the only ranger at Arches National Park. Many would consider him the founder of American environmental journalism. I first became acquainted with Mr. Abbey’s writing in high school when I read, “The Monkey Wrench Gang”. A fictional book about a gang of folks who would now be labeled as “eco-terrorists”. They spend the book fighting people who are ruining their desert southwest, culminating in the building of the Glen Canyon dam and (spoiler alert), they eventually blow it up.

“Down the River” is a collection of his short stories  printed in 1978 and 1982. Not all the stories are actually about being on the river. His opening piece is about Henry David Thoreau and took a commitment by me to get through. The chapters about his trips on rivers of the West are truly beautiful (the San Juan for instance). Lastly, his story about the annual gathering of western river guides is quite entertaining. Abbey’s descriptions of the people are vivid and (spoiler alert) some things never change.

If you are looking for a book full of narrow escapes and dangerous “hucks,” you won’t find it here. What you will find is incredibly beautiful writing about remote places and ideas about what it takes to save the American West and its rivers. The stories feel as relevant today as they likely did over forty years ago.

Editor’s note:  Edward Abbey is one of our favorite writers about rivers and the outdoors. We consider his “Desert Solitaire” to be the best non-fiction book written about the American West.

 Many of the books featured in Carolina Paddler reports are not found in chain bookstores, due to being out of print or being of a narrow subject matter. Often these books can be found in used bookstores or internet resellers.