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prcizmadia's review against another edition
4.0
An insightful meditation on the nature of power, progress, freedom and independence. While I think the structure and execution of the book left something to be desired-- namely, a 12-year old cipher of a narrator that is little more than a porthole into the world fought over by rancher John Vogelin and the US Air Force-- I got a lot out of this, mostly on the strength of the writing.
As always, Abbey writes the desert in a way that pulls at every bit of love and familiarity that I've ever felt. He uses it here to powerful ends. The subtext that hits me hardest is the desert as its own character. In the past I've tripped myself up on 'I'll go into the wilderness and it shall heal my pain,' and you know what? It never did. It watched me rage and squeal in impotence, with total indifference. The wilderness doesn't need us and scarcely notices us, except maybe as food if we misstep. To center ourselves in it is the highest self-obsession. I learned this the hard way, and while some characters here have grasped that... Vogelin sure didn't. He learns, though, and so shall we all.
As always, Abbey writes the desert in a way that pulls at every bit of love and familiarity that I've ever felt. He uses it here to powerful ends. The subtext that hits me hardest is the desert as its own character. In the past I've tripped myself up on 'I'll go into the wilderness and it shall heal my pain,' and you know what? It never did. It watched me rage and squeal in impotence, with total indifference. The wilderness doesn't need us and scarcely notices us, except maybe as food if we misstep. To center ourselves in it is the highest self-obsession. I learned this the hard way, and while some characters here have grasped that... Vogelin sure didn't. He learns, though, and so shall we all.
andrewlemek's review against another edition
3.0
0 stars for books about wildfires
4 stars for books about grandfathers and grandsons on a ranch in the southwest.
4 stars for books about grandfathers and grandsons on a ranch in the southwest.
midwestchickadee's review against another edition
4.0
I love the way he described the sights, sounds and smells of the West. Made me feel as if I were there.
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
2.0
I love Ed Abbey, but I remember not being very impressed with this earlier work of his.
timapple's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
brucefarrar's review against another edition
2.0
His grandson, Billy, tells the end of New Mexico rancher John Vogelin’s life. Billy’s annual summer visit to the Box V Ranch is disrupted by the United States. The government seizes the ranch to expand the White Sands Missile Range. Despite the arguments of his friend, Lee Mackie and the increasing show of force demonstrated by courts, law enforcement and military, John Vogelin refuses to leave his former property, a decision that leads to his death. The fire in the title is his funeral pyre. The back cover copy hails this 1962 novel as “a powerful and moving tale that gloriously celebrates the undying spirit of American individualism.” It could also be characterized as a well-written, realistic cautionary tale about the dangers of self-centered stupidity.
Abbey’s prose is clear and clean. His descriptions of the New Mexico landscape are precise and beautiful.
Abbey’s prose is clear and clean. His descriptions of the New Mexico landscape are precise and beautiful.
antonioct's review against another edition
3.0
Me ha gustado más por fuera que por dentro, la verdad. Ha envejecido regular el rollo Defiendo Mi Rancho Del Estado. Y que es más simple que un botijo el libro, vamos. ¡Mucho desierto y montañas, eso sí!
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