Are terrorism, vandalism, and general destruction, justifiable if it's against the machines that are destroying the beauty of a defenseless nature? If asked, Edward Abbey, author of The Monkey Wrench Gang would have almost surely said yes. Throughout his novel, he makes the message clear to us through his rag-tag group of characters, most notably George Washington Hayduke, and their opponent--nature's opponent--Bishop Love. Although The Monkey Wrench Gang had numerous faults, the message of nature's beauty and need to save it comes through to the reader without fail.

As the excitement revs up in the beginning with a bridge collapse, billboard burnings, and police chases, it leaves a false sense of hope that this book will be riddled with action and intrigue. Instead, the main focus of the writing, or so it would seem, is to describe the Southwest's beauty and give us inane details about earthmovers, explosives...