''Hayduke Lives!'', written in 1989 by

Edward Abbey Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 – March 14, 1989) was an American author, essayist, and environmental activist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public land policies. His best-known works include '' Desert S ...

, is the sequel to the popular book ''

The Monkey Wrench Gang ''The Monkey Wrench Gang'' is a novel written by American author Edward Abbey (1927–1989), published in 1975. Abbey's most famous work of fiction, the novel concerns the use of sabotage to protest environmentally damaging activities in the ...

''. It was published

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

in 1990 in a mildly unfinished state, as Abbey did not complete revision prior to his death. Thus, the book retains much of its author's unrefined musings. ''

'' and ''Hayduke Lives!'' have been reprinted numerous times due to their popularity.

Summary

''Hayduke Lives!'' picks up several years after the (literal)

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

and escape from the posse at the end of the previous book. It chronicles George Washington Hayduke's return to the deserts of southern Utah and northern Arizona, where he continues the sabotage initiated in ''

'' under numerous aliases, such as The Green Baron, and Fred Goodsell. The enigmatic "Kemosabe" (a hero from Abbey's first novel, '' The Brave Cowboy'') also makes a reappearance, coming to the aid of Hayduke after his escape from the posse. For a grand finale, Abbey reunites Hayduke with the outlaw-heroes of ''The Monkey Wrench Gang'' as they plan the destruction the world's largest walking dragline excavator (giant earth mover, also called GEM or Goliath, used for surface mining) while combating a greed-ridden

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

Bishop in another attempt to save the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado ...

from development. The narrative shifts numerous times between characters neglected by the previous book, including Bishop Love, the wives of Seldom Seen Smith and the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agents sent to end the sabotage.

Earth First!

While ''

'' inspired the creation of the movement

Earth First! Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron Kezar. Today there are Earth First! groups around t ...

, the latter is cited in ''Hayduke Lives!'' (notably in chapters 12, 24 and 27). In ''Hayduke Lives!'', the people active for Earth First! wear

t-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

s and

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Als ...

s with slogans such as:

, ''Hayduke Lives!'', chapters 12 and 24.

Notes and references

External links

Synopsis

Philadelphia City Paper story about a man who was not allowed to fly (post-9/11) because he tried to board with this book
{{Portal bar, Arizona, Books, Environment, Novels, Utah Novels by Edward Abbey 1989 American novels Environmental fiction books Anarchist fiction American political novels Eco-terrorism in fiction Green anarchism Novels set in Utah Novels set in Arizona Novels published posthumously