Description
Book SynopsisThis study assesses the literary career of Edward Abbey. The author asserts that his role as social commentator and environmental activist is complemented by his guise as a writer of romance - one who reconceives the contemporary world in order to envision a better one.
Trade Review“
The New West of Edward Abbey is valuable precisely because it attempts an evaluation of Abbey’s entire career, rather than merely offering explications of his various works. . . . It is deferential without being worshipful, thorough without pedantry, unified without being reductive. It represents the best kind of literary criticism, expanding the reader’s enjoyment and understanding without posturing or cleverness.” —James K. Folsom,
Nevada Historical Society Quarterly“Ronald’s book is a trustworthy and at times eloquent guide for one wishing not only to explore Abbey’s inner landscape but to see, through his eyes, the outer.” —Harold P. Simonson,
Pacific Northwest Quarterly, July 1983
“What is perhaps most important in this work is that Ann Ronald is so honest. There is much she admires about Abbey’s works, but she is not willing to suspend her critical judgment for the sake of aggrandizing her subject author. This is balanced, perceptive criticism at its best.” —Delbert Wylder,
Modern Fiction Studies“With the possible exception of Edward Abbey himself, it seems safe to assume that no one knows more about the writing of Edward Abbey than an unassuming professor of English named Ann Ronald.” —James R. Hepworth,
Western American Literature
