All The Wild That Remains: Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, and the American West

David Gessner takes on two major voices in Western writing and environmentalism: Edward Abbey and Wallace Stegner. Abbey and Stegner both loved the west but approached that vast landscape in different ways. Abbey immersed himself in the wilderness, almost dying during one trek, and then was buried in that very wilderness. Stegner, much more refined, was the "grown up," and served as Abbey's teacher (along with lots of other writers) in the Stanford writing program he founded. While Abbey advocated "monkey wrenching" as a way to stop environmental degradation, Stegner worked within the system and was part of the development of the 1964 Wilderness Act. Readers can connect with Gessner's work even if they haven't read either author. But, I show more can only hope reading Gessner will open a world of great western literature. show less

The book started a little slow for me but by the time the author arrived in Vernal and then Moab, UT, I was happily along for the ride. All the Wild That Remains is partly the story of the American West and the unique challenges its arid climate presents, but mostly it's the story of two very different western writers and their influence on the region and the region’s influence on them. Gessner also happened to journey through Colorado in the summer of 2012 when the drought-stricken landscape was ablaze, adding to the story in a sad, yet pointed way.

Gessner recalls the two acclaimed writer-environmentalists, button-down Wallace Stegner and monkey-wrencher Edward Abbey as he travels along in their footsteps. He interviews friends and show more neighbors, including Wendell Berry, and weaves their stories into an interesting and engaging narrative.

Anyone with an interest in either of these authors and the environmental challenges facing the Western states will enjoy this book. I listened to the audio which was well read by Brian O’Neill. show less

I felt this book was a "mini" biography of both Abbey and Stegner. I learned quite a few things about both I hadn't known although I was more familiar with Abbey's work.
The book is insightful relative to how the West, and Nature in general, is an intricate part of what it means to be human and how neither Abbey or Stegner appreciated how it was being overdeveloped.
Gessner offers a lot of refreshing thoughts and ideas about our relationship with the West and Nature, his spiritual journey in writing this book and Abbey's/Stegner's importance to the issues.

This wasn't the book I thought it was going to be, more memoir than a study of Abbey, Stegner, and the American West. Perhaps as a result, I had a hard time trusting, or even really liking the author. Guy that chose to settle in North Carolina road trips a couple of weeks, and looks up people that knew Abbey or Stegner. Hmm. In the end it works out... okay, mainly due the visits. Peacock especially comes off as kind and helpful to a nosy stranger, so perhaps we should follow his lead.

On the other hand, he had never spent time alone with his nine-year old daughter??? That is just mind-boggling to this dad, who took his then 1 and 3 year old sons on multi-day (solo) road trips. Nor could I imagine decamping from Colorado to North show more Carolina, and again having a nine-year old that hand't seen the Rockies???

There is a great germ of an idea here, and I hope to eventually find it fulfilled. show less

A dual biography of Edward Abbey and Wallace Stegner, narrated along a 9000-mile road trip visiting the western landmarks that figured prominently in their lives. Along the way, author Gessner interviewed many of their friends, family members, and former students while weaving an eco-journalistic thread throughout that tied the sometimes conflicting views of the two authors to current topics in conservation and the environment. I've had Stegner's Beyond the Hundredth Meridian on my kindle for some time but didn't feel I had the framework to understand and appreciate it. Now I do.

The subject matter of this book was interesting to me as I have read the subject authors before. Unfortunately for me this book read like a long form essay and just didn't have the hook or drive to keep me interested. I made my way through but came back to it over a couple of months rather than finishing this in a couple of days.

If you are looking for deeper insight into Abbey and Stegner this may be a good read for you.

Nice summary and comparison of Abbey and Stegner. The only real negative was this guy's trip....could not get into it. I was jealous of all the people he got to talk to, however....