“But hell, I do like to write letters. Much easier than writing books.”

And write letters Edward Abbey—“the Thoreau of the American West” (Washington Post)—did. At once incendiary and insightful, cantankerous and profoundly perceptive, Abbey was a singular American writer and cult hero, as famous for books like Desert Solitaire and The Monkey Wrench Gang as he was infamous for the persona of “Cactus Ed.” A true iconoclast with a rich sense of humor, his polemics and salvos—Wallace Stegner once likened Abbey to the “stinger of a scorpion”—were not limited to any one arena.

Abbey’s postcards and letters, legendary during his lifetime, convey the fullness of the man and reveal, along with his wisdom and savage wit, a tender side seldom seen before. For readers new to Abbey, this collection is an awe-inspiring introduction to the man and his works. And for devoted fans, the letters chronicle his evolution as an authentic American voice in the wilderness.

But hell, I do like to write letters. Much easier than writing books." And write letters Ed Abbey did. In his famous -- or infamous -- 45-year career, Abbey's cards and letters became as legendary as his books for their wit, vitriol, and ability to speak truth to power. Published here for the first time, the letters offer a fascinating, often hilarious glimpse into the mind of one of America's most iconoclastic and beloved authors. No subject was too banal, too arcane, or too deep for Abbey to expound on: sex, cheerleaders, Mormons, Aspen, and the Bond girls are covered as gleefully as Stegner, Dylan, Chomsky, Buddhism, and betrayal. Whether scolding an editor to simplify ("I've had to waste hours erasing that storm of fly-shit on the typescript") or skewering the chicken-hawk proponents of the war in Vietnam, Abbey's righteous indignation gives hope and inspiration to a generation that desperately needs both.