My Jr. High English teacher gave me a tip about The Monkey Wrench Gang. He was the one who had us reading Boulle, Camus, and Vonnegut, so I eagerly took his advice and bought this beautiful hard bound, Robert Crumb illustrated edition. That Crumb and Abbey were good friends does not surprise, both have a clear dislike of the destruction of the American landscape for commercial development.
This novel, about a ragtag group of environmental warriors hell bent on causing mayhem for construction builders, developers and ignorant fools, was a controversial hit when it was published. The book's direct call to arms led to real life revolt, actually inspiring a group calling themselves Earth First! and coining a new term for environmental sabotage: “monkey wrenching“. It's a very stimulating read where the hippies are bad ass and the action is abundant.
But what do you think?