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Jack Loeffler
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Adventures with Ed: A Portrait of Abbey Hardcover – November 30, 2001

by Jack Loeffler (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 42 ratings
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No writer has had a greater influence on the American West than Edward Abbey (1927-89), author of twenty-one books of fiction and nonfiction. This long-awaited biographical memoir by one of Abbey's closest friends is a tribute to the gadfly anarchist who popularized environmental activism in his novel The Monkey Wrench Gang and articulated the spirit of the arid West in Desert Solitaire and scores of other essays and articles. In the course of a twenty-year friendship Ed Abbey and Jack Loeffler shared hundreds of campfires, hiked thousands of miles, and talked endlessly about the meaning of life. To read Loeffler's account of his best pal's life and work is to join in their friendship.

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Abbey came west to attend the University of New Mexico on the G.I. Bill. His natural inclination toward anarchism led him to study philosophy, but after earning an M.A. he rejected academic life and worked off and on for years as a backcountry ranger and fire lookout around the Southwest. His 1956 novel The Brave Cowboy launched his literary career, and by the 1970s he was recognized as an important, uniquely American voice. Abbey used his talents to protest against the mining and development of the American West. By the time of his death he had become an idol to environmentalists, writers, and free spirits all over the West.

"Ed Abbey and Jack Loeffler were like Don Quijote and Sancho Panza. Loeffler delivers his friend, warts and all on a platter full of reverence and irreverence and carefully researched factual information, interspersed with hearty laughter and much serious consideration of all life's Great Questions. Jack's story elucidates and demythifies the Abbey legend, giving us powerful flesh and blood instead."--John Nichols

Previous page
  1. Print length
    308 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University of New Mexico Press
  4. Publication date
    November 30, 2001
  5. Dimensions
    6.13 x 0.88 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0826323871
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0826323873
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Hard on the heels of James Cahalan's Edward Abbey: A Life (LJ 10/15/01) comes this more personal reminiscence by one of author and environmental activist Abbey's closest friends. The book is part biography and part memoir, and it is the latter aspect that makes it of special interest. Loeffler and Abbey (1927-89) spent countless days together, hiking, camping, drinking beer, and talking about the natural beauty of the West and how it was being despoiled by industry and government. It is these long conversations, and the friends' adventures in Mexico and the Western landscape, that energize the second half of the book. Moments of high hilarity alternate with moving scenes from Abbey's life and final days, ending with Loeffler's secret burial of Abbey in the desert they both loved so much. Readers will want to skip the countless sections on anarchism and the diatribes against the industrial-military complex. Though Loeffler's portrait lacks the shades of gray found in Cahalan's biography, this book is highly recommended for Abbey's fans and for larger public library collections. Morris Hounion, N.Y.C. Technical Coll. Lib., CUNY

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Writer, gadfly, and "wilderness anarchist," Abbey (1927-89) has been the subject of hearsay and controversy but not nearly enough serious consideration. A new biography by James Cahalan [BKL O 1 01] lays the foundation for a deeper appreciation of Abbey and his 21 high-voltage books; and now Loeffler, one of Abbey's closest friends, presents an engrossing biographical memoir. A down-to-earth storyteller who shares Abbey's love of wilderness and freedom as well as his ornery sense of humor, Loeffler expertly chronicles Abbey's early years, drawing judiciously on family archives, but his vivid and anecdotal profile really comes alive when he enters the picture. Loeffler's memories of his conversations and travels with Abbey (they walked thousands of desert miles together) combined with astutely chosen selections from Abbey's journals reveal a shy, often melancholy yet adventurous man, an uncompromising intellectual and revolutionary, and an artist who craved solitude but who lived for friendship and love. Loeffler's intimate, incisive, and loving portrait of Abbey replaces the old, brittle caricature with an indelible body-and-soul vision of a true American original. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of New Mexico Press; First Edition (November 30, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 308 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0826323871
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0826323873
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.44 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.13 x 0.88 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 42 ratings

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Jack Loeffler

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
42 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

J. Blilie
5.0 out of 5 stars First Hand View of Abbey
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2005
Verified Purchase
It would be hard to top the review by Philip Carl of July 2005. I enthusiastically agree with everything he said.

This is an intimate portrait of Ed Abbey, in all his guises, with all the warts on, from a very close friend who knew him from about age 30 until his deathbed. It's clear from the book that they were very close friends. Abbey even relied on Loeffler to ensure that he didn't die in a hospital, which is something Abbey feared and loathed. So, Loeffler was in a position to know.

I am a die-hard fan of Ed Abbey and I own all his books except Jonathan Troy (the price of which collectors have pushed through the roof and which Abbey himself didn't like.) Abbey, for how autobiographical most of his writing was, really revealed little about his personal life in his books. I was hoping for a much closer look at Abbey. I got it in this book. And, I emerged wondering whether I would have really liked to have been close friends with him, as I thought I did. Probably I would have in my 20's (wild mountain-man years.) But now, I think I would find him too prickly. And too irresponsible. You find out just how bad a husband and father he was, until very late in life. No wonder he didn't want to say too much about his personal life. You also learn how much he regretted not being there for his children. Like I said, all the warts. Or at least all the warts Loeffler knew about.

A previous review that I read before buying this book complained that Loeffler couldn't have remembered all the conversations with Abbey in such detail. I can remember important moments with my friends to that level of detail. If I had to write them out, sure, some quotes wouldn't be 100% accurate; but they would convey the gist and feeling and most of the best bits exactly. The same review complained of less than 100% accuracy in the biographical section at the beginning of the book. Seems like picking academic nits to me. I'm not doing research. If Loeffler says he was born in a different Appalachian town a few miles away from the correct one, so what? Does that really affect anything important?

[Seriously, I wonder if Mr. (zero-stars) Rubio actually read Abbey's books or knew anything about him. Abbey laid out his beliefs (if not his personal life) and his prejudices clearly in his published writing. To say that you liked and respected him, "Before reading this book I held a deep respect for Abbey's work and admired his beliefs and all of what he stood for," and then write the littany of hate against him in the review below just amazes me. That review sounds like someone with an ax to grind against Abbey. Abbey: an imperfect man, like so many great artists. Does that devalue his work or his arguments? I think not. Written like a 12-year-old? Don't believe a word of that. He doesn't get the jokes and word-play in the dialogue?]

As a big Abbey fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I actually got choked up a few times. Loeffler and Abbey were clearly great good friends and knew how to enjoy life together, in spite of Abbey's basically dark temperament. This tells the story of their friendship and of Abbey's life before they met. Detailed, heartfelt, warm memories of a friend. Once I got into the personal stories of their times together, I couldn't put the book down.

Highly recommended to any fan of Abbey.
9 people found this helpful
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Jim Forrest
5.0 out of 5 stars The Story of a Rebel
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2020
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Ed & I were the only 2 graduate students of Philosophy at the University of New Mexico in the mid 50s. Ed was a fascinating person. Spoke very little, very seldom, but expressed himself in many works of literature. He was working on The Brave Cowboy when we met. A few years later it was the basis for the movie Lonely Are the Brave, with Kirk Douglas. Ed was in no way a traditional person, devoting his life to adventures in nature, and writing. You'll either like him, or you won't.
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Arthur Digbee
4.0 out of 5 stars The personal is political, and not that pretty
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2017
This “portrait” of Abbey is something close to a biography, without the footnotes. Loeffler was a close friend of Abbey, and he had possession of Abbey’s papers. He interviewed many of Abbey’s friends and relatives. Perhaps most important is the fact that Loeffler could draw on many conversations with Abbey, mostly while out camping together. Unfortunately, it’s not clear whether the reports of those conversations come from Loeffler’s own journals or from his later recollections, so it’s hard to source them as truly reflecting Abbey’s thoughts at the time.

The great strength of this book is that it gives Abbey enough rope to hang himself, even if that does not seem to be Loeffler’s intention. Abbey was clearly loveable, but he was also clearly selfish, irresponsible, and bit of a jerk. It’s tempting to separate his personality from his writing, but I think this book makes clear that his personality is central to his agenda as his writer.

For example, as an anarchist and a libertarian, Abbey believed in a society of free people coming together in free association with one another, in mutually-beneficial contracts. One such free association, marriage, he attempted five times, and failed at four times. That’s a good illustration of the selfishness of the libertarian, as I have seen among my libertarian friends – not really believing in contracts that might bind them, but only in their own selfish and changeable desires. Philandering, which Abbey defended for men, lay behind his marital failures.

As a second example, the book is full of campfire conversations about all the things Loeffler and Abbey want to do, or that they might do, to fight civilization on behalf of wilderness. Almost all of that, but not quite all, is just talk. What Abbey does do is write, and write well. That’s a worthy choice, but it makes all the talk about direct action sound hollow. It also makes me question exactly what his commitment to nature and wilderness looked like, aside from being a place where he could indulge himself and escape social obligations.
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Jay Stenman
5.0 out of 5 stars Local Author Makes Good
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2021
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I am taking my time reading this & have been using a book about the US National Parks as a reference to where Ed went during his years. Where he worked & where he loved to spend time. Well written & detailed.
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jeepgezzer
5.0 out of 5 stars New (to me anyway) info on Mr. Abbey.
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2021
Verified Purchase
A very good look at another side of Ed Abbey--I recommend it to any who is interested in another side of his life.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 20, 2019
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This is an amazing book about an amazing man ( Sorry Ed If you don’t like to be called amazing !) - his life - his family and his friends I was totally enthralled - only food sleep and work prevented me from reading it end to end Thank you
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