Certainly, I want to capture the reader's attention from the beginning and hold it until the end: that is half the purpose of my art. The other half … - Edward Abbey

When the biggest, richest, glassiest buildings in town are the banks, you know that town's in trouble.

We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it. We need a refuge even though we may not ever need to go there.

Beyond the wall of the unreal city … there is another world waiting for you. It is the old true world of the deserts, the mountains, the forests, the islands, the shores, the open plains. Go there. Be there. Walk gently and quietly deep within it. And then — <P> May your trails be dim, lonesome, stony, narrow, winding and only slightly uphill. May the wind bring rain for the slickrock potholes fourteen miles on the other side of yonder blue ridge. May God's dog serenade your campfire, may the rattlesnake and the screech owl amuse your reverie, may the Great Sun dazzle your eyes by day and the Great Bear watch over you by night.