When <I>Desert Solitaire</I> was first published in 1968, it became the focus of a nationwide cult. Rude and sensitive. Thought-provoking and mystical. Angry and loving. Both Abbey and this book are all of these and more. Here, the legendary author of <I>The Monkey Wrench Gang, Abbey's Road</I> and many other critically acclaimed books vividly captures the essence of his life during three seasons as a park ranger in southeastern Utah. This is a rare view of a quest to experience nature in its purest form -- the silence, the struggle, the overwhelming beauty. But this is also the gripping, anguished cry of a man of character who challenges the growing exploitation of the wilderness by oil and mining interests, as well as by the tourist industry. <P> Abbey's observations and challenges remain as relevant now as the day he wrote them. Today, <I>Desert Solitaire</I> asks if any of our incalculable natural treasures can be saved before the bulldozers strike again.