Hands down, no one did more to inspire, entertain, refresh, and invigorate eco-activists and environmental defenders in the latter half of the twentieth century than Edward Abbey, according to the editors of Orion magazine.

The earnest, witty, cantankerous scribe captured the imaginations of many lovers of things wild and free, his words entering our hearts like a scramble through a wild place when the trappings of society have become too overbearing, like that first swig of beer after a long hard day at work.

As a tribute to the man and his influence, Orion magazine has unearthed and run some unpublished letters from Abbey's collected correspondence. They supply a unique window into the inner thoughts of a legend - a man who gave many of us something to latch onto, a vision to believe in, and countless quotes to be scribbled in journals, tacked to bulletin boards, and lodged in our musings and advocacy writings to this day.

The Unpublished Letters of Edward Abbey